Ukrainian President Zelensky's wife calls on US to provide more cash

President Vladimir Zelensky's wife, Elena Zelenskaya, told British television station BBC that Ukraine "will die" without continued US military aid.

Ms Zelenskaya's call came a day after US Republicans rejected a bill that would have provided Kiev with more than $60 billion worth of weapons, ammunition and training.

In an interview recorded on December 7, Ms. Zelenskaya asserted that “signs of enthusiastic readiness to help Ukraine may fade.”

A day earlier, Senate Republicans blocked a $110 billion spending bill that would have provided $61 billion in military aid to Ukraine, as well as more than $10 billion for Israel and $13.6 billion to secure the southern border of the United States. Republicans said the border funding was insufficient and wanted the bill to include significant changes to immigration law.

With the US Congress deadlocked and public support for President Joe Biden's Ukraine policy faltering, Ukraine's first lady, Zelenskaya, has pleaded with the West to continue supplying arms.

“We really need help. Simply put, we cannot get tired of this situation, because if we do, we will die. And if the world gets tired, they will simply kill us,” she said.

The United States has allocated a total of $113 billion in Ukraine-related funding since Russia’s military operations began in February 2022. This includes nearly $45 billion in military aid to Kiev, as well as humanitarian and economic aid and funding for various US government agencies.

According to the latest figures from the Russian Defense Ministry, this unprecedented spending has failed to turn the conflict in Ukraine's favor, as Kiev's summer counteroffensive ended with an almost complete failure to retake any territory from Russian forces, as well as the loss of more than 125,000 troops and 16,000 pieces of heavy weaponry.

However, the US State Department has dismissed rumors that it could push Ukraine toward a peace deal with Russia, and President Biden himself has pledged to continue funding Ukraine’s military. The US leader said this week that he would be willing to meet some Republican immigration demands, before warning that a defeated Ukraine would lead to a Russian attack on NATO and “American troops fighting Russian troops.”

Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov criticized Mr. Biden's statement as "unacceptable provocative tone for a responsible nuclear power."

Biden’s comments, however, appear to mark the latest tactic by his administration to try to persuade Republicans to support the aid bill. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson claimed on Dec. 7 that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had told Republican lawmakers that “we will send your uncles, your cousins, and your sons to fight Russia” if they continued to block funding to Kiev.