The European Union will ask Washington to continue financing Ukraine. This was stated by the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, commenting on the draft budget adopted in the United States, which did not include assistance for Kyiv.

"We need to continue you (Ukraine. - RT) to support and talk to our American allies, friends, so that they continue to support you. I am sure that this decision will be reconsidered and we will all be on your side together," Borrell said upon arrival at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kyiv.

Borrell added that the Ukrainian conflict is an "existential threat" to Europe.

The day before, the head of EU diplomacy also said that Europe would continue to provide financial assistance to Ukraine, regardless of US policy. He stressed that EU assistance does not depend on the results of the offensive operations of the Kyiv regime.

Recall that in August, Borrell made a proposal to create a military aid fund for Ukraine for 2024-2027, from which up to €5 billion will be allocated annually to Kyiv.

Budget without Ukraine

On October 1, US President Joe Biden signed a draft budget, from which, under pressure from Republicans in Congress, the clause on the allocation of funds for Kyiv was excluded.

Initially, the Biden administration requested $24 billion in aid to Ukraine, but after sharp criticism from members of Congress, only $6 billion was included in the draft budget.

However, Republicans in the House of Representatives, under the leadership of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, refused to agree on this project.

  • Josep Borrell
  • AP
  • © Efrem Lukatsky

The day before the government shutdown, McCarthy presented a new draft interim budget for 45 days, from which the provision on assistance to Ukraine was excluded. The House of Representatives, and then the Senate, adopted this document.

If the budget were rejected, it would lead to a halt in the work of the federal government and the country's services.

Joe Biden signed the bill, but after that he sharply criticized the Republicans.

"Under no circumstances can we allow US support for Ukraine to be interrupted," the American leader said.

He added that Republicans should "stop playing games" and agree on a full-fledged budget.

"We have time, but not much, we need to act urgently," Biden stressed.

After approving the draft interim budget, the Pentagon warned of the depletion of almost all available funding for security assistance to Ukraine and said that it expects McCarthy to introduce a separate bill to help Kyiv.

Against the backdrop of a political confrontation between the White House and the House of Representatives over assistance to Ukraine, Kiev recognized that it is impossible to survive the conflict with Russia without financial support from the United States. This, in particular, was stated by the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksiy Goncharenko.

"The United States is our key ally. Without the support of the United States, we have practically no chance of surviving. What happened yesterday in Congress is no longer just a bell, it's a ringing. We need to change the strategy. We need to do otherwise, "RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.

At the same time, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, hastened to report that nothing threatens the already approved supplies of weapons and equipment.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said before the meeting of EU foreign ministers that the Ukrainian authorities are counting on the United States to continue to provide assistance to Kyiv.

"We had a very deep discussion with both parties of Congress - Republicans and Democrats. Against the backdrop of a possible shutdown in the United States, the decision was made in this form. But we are now working with both sides in Congress to ensure that this does not happen again under any circumstances," TASS quoted Kuleba as saying.

The Kremlin also commented on the situation with the refusal of the US Congress to help Ukraine. So, the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that he considers this a temporary phenomenon.

"Obviously, this is a temporary phenomenon. Of course, America will continue its involvement in this conflict," the Kremlin spokesman said.

Financial disagreements

Borrell's statement suggests that the European Union does not want to fully take over the financing of Ukraine, American political scientist Mikhail Sinelnikov-Orishak said in a conversation with RT.

"According to the Europeans, internal political disagreements in the US Congress should not affect the project of confrontation between Ukraine and Russia. Too much has already been invested in this project to just stop all this, having fairly average results in hand. Therefore, for Europe, the continuation of financing Kiev is of fundamental importance, "the interlocutor of RT explained.

  • Delivery of American weapons to Ukraine
  • AFP
  • © Sergei SUPINSKY

Europe can find funds to support the Kyiv regime, but does not want to do it alone, Sinelnikov-Orishak added.

"Europe can support Ukraine on its own, but, of course, seeks to reduce its costs. It is much more profitable to delegate costs and distribute them to everyone, which is what the EU is worried about," the political scientist added.

At the same time, one should not expect that the contradictions between the Biden administration and the opposition in Congress will lead to a sharp and final cessation of financing of the Kyiv regime by Washington, the expert emphasized.

"The Republicans in the House of Representatives do not have a very large advantage. Now the contradictions between Congress and the White House are escalating, but this happens every time before the elections - at the moment it has taken the form of a struggle to exclude aid to Ukraine from the budget. The goal is to weaken the current administration in the upcoming elections," the expert emphasized.

Republicans want to harm the Democrats and the Biden administration, but do not think that they do not support the idea of defeating Russia in Ukraine, the political scientist noted.

"There is an absolute consensus on this in the United States. Therefore, one should not expect that someone there will decide to abandon the support of Kiev and the problem of Ukraine will be resolved by itself in our favor. This is an absolute delusion, "the interlocutor of RT emphasized.

According to Alexei Mukhin, Director General of the Center for Political Information, Europeans are unhappy with the fact that as the election cycle in the United States approaches, the main burden of financial support for the Ukrainian conflict will increasingly fall on them.

"In fact, the United States has long wanted to shift the main burden of financing the Ukrainian conflict to the Europeans. After they saturated their military-industrial complex with money, the financing of Kiev became burdensome. And now attempts are being made on the part of the United States to jump off, shifting the entire burden of support for Ukraine and military operations to European partners. Timid attempts on the part of Brussels to prevent this will not have any consequences, with which the Europeans can be congratulated, "the political scientist believes.

In the United States, interest in Ukraine will fade away as the next presidential elections and a new congress in 2024 approach, Alexei Mukhin added.

"Americans are losing interest in this topic, in addition, recently the financing of Ukraine has become a very sore subject due to corruption scandals in which the Kiev regime regularly falls. I don't really want to be responsible for his mistakes, so the US leadership is preparing the ground to shift responsibility for this enterprise to others, "the analyst said.

The EU will be able to finance the regime in Kiev for some time, but European states do not have stocks of weapons and money similar to the United States that can be sent to Ukraine, Alexei Mukhin stated.

"Of course, the current situation will continue for some time with thefinancial support of the EU. But in the future, the leaders of Europe will have to face the same growing indignation of voters and taxpayers as politicians in the United States, "the political scientist explained.

At the same time, in the United States itself, as 2024 approaches, the contradictions between the Biden administration and the opposition will worsen and there will be more and more episodes like the exclusion of aid to Ukraine from the draft budget, Alexei Mukhin concluded.