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Jake Sullivan recently announced that President Biden plans to request additional funding from Congress for Ukraine. How would you interpret this decision at this point? In the United States we would call Biden’s request for more Ukraine funding a “Hail Mary Pass” (a term used in American football). It means he is making the request to show his solidarity with Ukraine and to try and squeeze the Republicans to somehow support Ukraine in future.
My own opinion is that Congress will not take up the Biden proposal, instead waiting for Trump to take office. I don’t think Biden believes the measure has any chance. Conditions have changed since the last, massive supplemental for Ukraine.
Huge expenditures have not improved Ukraine’s situation. In fact, the Russians continue to make significant gains against Ukraine’s army and continue to devastate the Ukrainian critical infrastructure, especially the power grid. If the war continues, Ukraine could become non-recoverable in terms of infrastructure, and the Ukrainians who left the country won’t come back to a wasteland.
In your view, what should we expect from a Trump administration concerning Ukraine? Do you think there’s a realistic prospect of US-Russia dialogue to end the war? A lot depends on the behavior of the Russian leader. I think Trum.
