(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he signed a $200 million presidential drawdown for Ukraine during a meeting with its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Putin is banking on the United States failing to deliver for Ukraine. We must, we must, we must, prove him wrong,” Biden said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
He continued: “As president, I will not walk away from Ukraine and neither will the American people.”
Zelenskyy came to Capitol Hill amid political battles over more U.S. funding for Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in February 2022.
Biden has requested $61.4 billion in wartime aid for the country as part of a $110 billion package that also includes money for Israel and other national security priorities. About half of the $61 billion would go to the Defense Department to replenish weaponry it is supplying, and the other half would be for humanitarian assistance and to help the Ukrainian government function.
This funding is at risk of collapsing in Congress. Republicans want stricter security changes along the U.S.-Mexico border — something Democrats have called draconian.
The U.S. has already provided Ukraine $111 billion, the Associated Press said.
NewsNation partner The Hill reports that GOP senators on Monday said any breakthrough this week on more funding appeared unlikely — meaning more talks about this would likely be pushed to January. Biden, though, said he wants a deal to be made before Christmas. He said not doing so, would “give Putin the greatest Christmas gift.”
“History will judge harshly those who turned their back on freedom’s cause. Today, Ukraine’s freedom is on the line. If we don’t stop Putin, he’ll endanger the freedom of everyone, almost everywhere,” Biden said.
On Tuesday morning, Zelenskyy met privately with senators and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, wrote on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, that Zelenskyy told lawmakers if Ukraine falls to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the risk from Russia gets larger.
After the meeting, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Zelenskyy’s words were “very powerful.”
“He outlined in great detail the kind of help he needs and how it will help him win,” Schumer said. Zelenskyy “made clear, and we all made it clear, that if we lose Putin wins, and this will be very, very dangerous for the United States,” Schumer said, adding the Ukrainian President said he needs the aid “quickly.”
“We cannot let Putin influence, through any surrogate, what we need to do for Ukraine,” Schumer said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, accused Democrats of “using President Zelensky inappropriately,” The Hill wrote. Another Republican, Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri, said it is “striking” that senators heard from the president of Ukraine again, “but we’ve yet to hear from our own president about the border.”
For his part, Zelenskyy said on X that he had a “friendly and candid conversation” with the Senate.
Following his own meeting with Zelenskyy, Johnson blamed the Senate for the stall in Ukraine funding. A bill that would address Republicans’ border concerns was passed in the House months ago, Johnson said, but has not made any progress in the Senate.
“The Senate has been MIA on this,” he said.
Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar, of California, criticized Johnson at a press briefing for not setting up a meeting between the Zelenskyy and the full House of Representatives, The Hill reported.
“We just thank him for coming out, and [having] the courage to come here. Unfortunately, House Republicans didn’t extend that offer to meet like the Senate did — to meet with all members,” Aguilar said.
Johnson said he asked the White House for clarity on the Ukraine strategy going forward, and oversight on funding already sent. So far, Johnson said, the White House response has been “insufficient.”
State media reports that Russia says it will “stay the course” with its special military operation, no matter what happens as Biden and Zelenskyy meet.
“It cannot change the situation on the battlefield or the course of the special military operation. Of this we are certain,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
On Monday, the White House revealed newly declassified intelligence showing Ukraine has inflicted heavy losses in Russia in recent fighting along the Avdiivka-Novopavlivka axis — including 13,000 casualties and over 220 combat vehicle losses. United States intelligence officials determined that Russia thinks that if it can achieve a military deadlock through the winter, it will be able to drain Western support for Ukraine, according to the Associated Press.
“It is more critical now than ever that we maintain our support for Ukraine so they can continue to hold the line and regain their territory,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said.
Zelenskyy has made three trips to Washington, D.C. since the Russia-Ukraine War started.
As Zelenskyy talked to U.S. officials Tuesday, Ukraine faced heavy air and cyberspace attacks. Nearly 600 Russian shells, rockets and other projectiles rained down on a southern region in Ukraine and unidentified hackers knocked out phone and internet services of the country’s biggest telecom provider.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story is developing. Refresh for updates.