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Ukraine’s Money Cliff

With Congress stiff-arming Zelensky, and military funds running out, experts and members of the administration worry that, long-term, without additional aid, “the Ukrainians are doomed.”

Even if Congress reaches a deal early next year and aid begins to flow again, the days of a new Ukraine supplemental getting passed every couple months are long gone.
Even if Congress reaches a deal early next year and aid begins to flow again, the days of a new Ukraine supplemental getting passed every couple months are long gone. Photo: Dmytro Larin/Getty Images
Julia Ioffe
December 20, 2023

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s whirlwind trip to Washington, a Hail Mary attempt to get more funding for his country’s war against Russia, landed with a thud. It was not for lack of assistance from the White House: On the day of Zelensky’s visit, the Biden administration declassified data on how well Ukraine was doing in the war, how many Russian soldiers it had killed or maimed (315,000), and how many Russian tanks it had destroyed or captured (2,200). “Russia has lost 87 percent of its pre-war forces,” a Democratic Senate intel staffer told me that day. “These are eye-popping numbers.”