The White House is calling for additional national security funding, warning that “when dictators aren’t stopped, they keep going.”
Efforts to secure additional funding for the war in Ukraine received a boost after Russian dissident Alexei Navalny died in jail last week. President Joe Biden immediately ascribed blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin and promised to issue new sanctions on the country.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with reporters Tuesday afternoon to make the case for funding, which has stalled in Congress with Republicans demanding to couple it with border security measures that have yet to emerge to their liking.
“It’s in our strategic interest, our cold-blooded national security interests, to help Ukraine stand up to Putin’s vicious and brutal invasion,” Sullivan said. “We know from history that when dictators aren’t stopped, they keep going.”
While Sullivan was speaking, Biden told reporters at the White House that major new sanctions against Russia will be rolled out Friday as he works to apply pressure on Putin amid the escalation.
Navalny’s death under mysterious circumstances may have supercharged negotiating efforts on both sides, with Biden now saying he’d be willing to meet with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), something he’d previously refused.
Sullivan stressed that most of the weapons sent to Ukraine by the United States are made domestically in places such as West Virginia, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and Texas, meaning that much of that funding would be spun back into America’s economy.
“This bill continues these important investments in the U.S. defense industrial base, expanding production in these factories, revitalizing our submarine industrial base, and supporting jobs across our country,” he said, “all while improving our own military readiness.”
On the flip side, Sullivan warned of reports that Ukrainian troops are rationing ammunition on the front lines as Russia continues its invasion of the country into a third year.
The bill would also provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian civilians, as well as aid to more than 2 million Palestinians, most of whom Sullivan said are not affiliated with Hamas.
During a question-and-answer session, Sullivan was asked what might happen if Ukraine doesn’t receive any more aid from the U.S.
“I don’t even have to paint a picture because we’re seeing the pictures in living color from Ukraine,” he said. “Ukrainian forces [are] having to move back from the town of Avdiivka because they’re not getting the levels and tempo of supplies that they need and deserve.”
