Lawmakers omitted further aid to Ukraine in a measure passed Saturday to avoid a federal government shutdown, signaling that U.S. support for funding its fight against the Russian invasion is getting harder.
House GOP leaders scuttled the $6 billion aid for Kyiv in a bill that passed both chambers hours before a midnight deadline. The decision — at least for now — dealt a blow to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who last week met with President Joe Biden and lawmakers in Washington to personally plead for new weapons systems, including F-16 fighter jets and longer-range ATACMS missiles.
The Biden administration and lawmakers from both parties sought to reassure Ukraine that U.S. military aid won’t stop and that assistance may be supplied in a separate bill down the road.