Axios: US may stop aid to Ukraine after midterm elections

US Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State meet with Ukrainian President. Photo: AFP

According to Axios, the support that Washington provides to Ukraine in the context of the Moscow-Kiev conflict could be cut off if the Republican Party gains control of the US Congress in the midterm elections on November 8.

Even the most vocal critics of President Vladimir Putin among US Republicans now acknowledge that there has been a “notable shift from what was once a broad bipartisan consensus” on providing aid to Ukraine, the site reported on October 19.

“I think people are going into a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine. They’re not going to do that,” the source said, citing House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who told Punchbowl News earlier this week. “Ukraine may be important, but it can’t be the only thing on the administration’s agenda.”

Republican Congressman Don Bacon also said he had “noticed” a decline in support for Ukraine, both on social media and within the Republican Party.

Bacon’s colleague Kelly Armstrong also told Axios that the change in mood could be a result of the feedback lawmakers are getting from their constituents. “When people see a 13% increase in grocery prices, bills that are going up, services that are going to double…if you’re a border community and it’s flooded with migrants, drugs…then Ukraine is the furthest thing from your mind,” he pointed out.

The website also quoted a Republican member of the House of Representatives, who asserted that “after the $40 billion aid package in May, there were many Republicans who said: This is the last time I support giving money to Ukraine.”

In an interview with Axios, Congressman Jim Banks, who runs the Republican Study Committee (RSC), made it clear that his party will focus on domestic issues after the midterm elections. “The RSC believes that you can’t lead abroad if you’re weak at home. Our Republican agenda in the new majority needs to be to protect our borders and get America back on its feet by addressing energy costs and inflation,” he explained.

Asked to comment on McCarthy’s remarks, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration would “continue to work with Congress as it has over the past several months on these efforts and support Ukraine until it is no longer needed.” Jean-Pierre noted that this was a “commitment” that Joe Biden made to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

White House aides also told Politico on October 19 that the Biden administration had not warned Kiev that US aid would end if Republicans took control of at least one chamber of Congress after the election. But they said officials in Kiev knew that this was a possibility.

The United States has been Kiev's biggest backer since the Russia-Ukraine conflict erupted in late February. Washington has provided Kiev with more than $16.8 billion in military aid, including sophisticated equipment such as HIMARS rocket launchers, M777 howitzers and combat drones.

Moscow has criticized the arms transfers, saying they only prolong the war and increase the risk of direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.