Schumer: Americans will Suffer if Ukraine Falls

It has been our contention that the fate of the world hangs on the outcome of the latest iteration of the russo-Ukraine war that putin launched. If Ukraine fails to hold at bay and defeat russia, then Eastern Europe, Europe, NATO, and the United States will fall.

The russian war against Ukraine has lasted more than 700 days and no one has offered Washington legislators a better explanation about why Ukraine must prevail than Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), a perennial supporter of Ukraine.

Capitol Hill is currently in a deadlock about what to do with funding and support, which Ukraine desperately needs if it is to have any chance of subduing moscow’s bloody onslaught. The Democrats, including President Biden, favor providing Ukraine with comprehensive aid without any stipulations. On the other hand, the Republicans, who in a previous generation were known for their support for Ukraine and the captive nations, are holding back pending resolution of the Mexican border question.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said last week that negotiators “are working furiously to approve another round of Ukraine aid” and border security enhancements — but some provisions are “still outstanding.”

“One thing is certain: We’re going to keep going to get this done,” Schumer said in a floor speech. “If we don’t act, Ukraine will fall. And every day Americans will feel the impact, not years but months away.”

The $106 billion national security supplemental proposed in October by Biden would also include funds for US security in the Indo-Pacific, military assistance for Israel amid its war with Hamas, as well as humanitarian aid for Ukraine, the Jewish state, and the Gaza Strip.

It includes $61.4 billion in aid for Ukraine as it nears the second anniversary of the Russian invasion, $14.3 billion for Israel, $13.6 billion to enhance border enforcement and $10 billion in humanitarian assistance.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has stood united with Schumer in calling for funding Ukraine’s war effort against Russia — despite opposition from right-wing Republicans who want to secure the border first.

“This has never been about charity,” McConnell told his colleagues Wednesday morning. “It’s not about virtue-signaling or abstract principles of international relations. This is about cold, hard American interests. This is in the United States’ direct interest for authoritarians not to feel free to redraw maps by force,” he added, noting that putin’s re-election campaign bears the slogan “Russia’s borders do not end anywhere.”

With time slipping to bolster Ukraine’s defenses, Senate negotiators struggled Wednesday to finalize a bipartisan deal that would pair policy changes at the U.S. southern border with wartime aid for Kyiv as their carefully negotiated compromise ran into strong resistance from House Republicans and Donald Trump.

Ukrainian American voters, as well as those whose lineage comes from the former captive nations, are hoping that the impasse will be broken in time to provide Ukraine with primarily military equipment, weapons and arms. European countries on February 1 gave a green light to a proposal to provide Ukraine with regular and predictable financial support through the so-called “Ukraine Facility,” which will have available up to 50 billion euros ($53.9 billion) in grants and loans until 2017.