It is an indication of just how much support for Ukraine has fallen in the US in recent months that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has found it necessary to visit Washington to shore up backing for his country’s faltering military campaign.
It was only last summer that US President Joe Biden was promising Kyiv that the White House would maintain its support for Ukraine’s war against Russia for “as long as it takes”.
Biden made this open-ended commitment just as Ukraine was preparing to launch its much-anticipated counter-offensive against the Russians, with expectations running high in Washington that Ukrainian forces were on the point of making a decisive breakthrough.
A combination of Russia’s formidable defensive positions in eastern and southern Ukraine, combined with shortages of weapons and manpower, has stymied Ukraine’s military offensive to the extent that its forces have only succeeded in advancing just a few kilometres along parts of its 600-mile border with Russia.
Ukraine’s inability to make significant progress with its counter-offensive, together with the enormous cost incurred by the US and its allies in supporting Kyiv’s war effort, has resulted in a notable decline in support for the Ukrainian cause among Western leaders.
Mounting costs
To date, the US has contributed around $75bn in military and humanitarian aid, with the European Union contributing a further $71bn, mainly in the form of humanitarian support. Meanwhile, Germany and the UK have also made significant military contributions to Ukraine’s war effort worth around $25bn.
The mounting cost of supporting Ukraine’s war effort, with the Biden administration planning to spend a further $61bn in aid, has prompted a political backlash in Washington, with Republicans calling for an end to Washington’s “blank cheque” support for Ukraine.
