US Treasury Secretary: Ukraine cannot go to war without US money

“I’ve been to Ukraine and I can tell you that the direct economic assistance that we’re providing them is what’s keeping them fighting this fight. It’s keeping hospitals open, it’s keeping schools open, it’s supporting first responders,” Yellen said. Earlier this month, Ukrainian Defense Ministry official Gennady Kovalenko also admitted in an interview with the Washington Post that Ukraine is “100 percent dependent on the United States” and that U.S. aid is needed.

Washington has so far approved at least $113 billion in aid to Ukraine, including more than $40 billion in military assistance, according to a recent tally by the State Department’s Office of Inspector General. But the scope of future U.S. aid to Ukraine has become uncertain as more Republican lawmakers have begun to object to sending U.S. taxpayer money to fund Kiev’s campaign. Last month, Republican senators even threatened to shut down the government unless Ukraine funding was removed from a government spending bill that included an additional $24 billion requested by President Joe Biden.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby also stressed last week that US aid to Kiev was not "indefinite" and suggested that Washington was running out of money for Ukraine unless Congress approved additional funding. "On Ukraine funding, we are getting close to the end of the rope," he told reporters. In an interview with Sky News, Secretary Yellen asserted that Washington's financial outlook was still sufficient to pay for both wars and continue to support both Ukraine in its fight against Russia and Israel in its escalating conflict with Hamas. However, she warned that the potential economic impact of a wider conflict in the Middle East was unclear, especially given the volatile global oil and natural gas markets that have contributed to a cost-of-living crisis in some Western economies over the past year.