The Defense Ministry will continue activities in Ukraine if a shutdown occurs
There is currently a possibility of a government shutdown in the United States, but the Defense Department will continue to conduct Ukraine-related activities even if government funding is removed, Defense Department spokesman Chris Sherwood said Politico.
“Operation Atlantic Resolve is an exceptional measure because the government no longer has resources available,” Sherwood said, according to the medium.
Politico reported that this means America’s activities, such as training Ukrainian troops and sending weapons to the war-torn Eastern European country, would continue in the event of a U.S. government shutdown.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday.
The Ukrainian leader also met with US lawmakers during his trip to America.
The U.S. has already provided billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, which is fending off a brutal Russian invasion, and there is broad bipartisan consensus to provide even more U.S. aid.
“American support for Ukraine is not charity. It is an investment in our own direct interests – not least because weakening Russia’s military power helps deter our most important strategic adversary, China,” Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement opinion.
“If you can’t support Ukraine right now, that’s un-American and you’re not standing up for democracy,” Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said in a statement The hill. “The people of Ukraine had the courage to stand up and fight against an evil empire, but now Republicans in the House of Representatives don’t even have the courage to back them up and support them. This is absolutely despicable.”
But not all lawmakers are enthusiastic about continuing to provide U.S. support to Ukraine.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has said he will not agree to accelerate passage of a spending measure that provides additional U.S. aid to Ukraine.
“When will the requests for help end? When does the war end? Can someone explain what victory in Ukraine looks like?” Paul asked. “With no clear end in sight, it increasingly looks like Ukraine will be another endless quagmire funded by the American taxpayer.”
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has explained“I will not agree to any funding bill that sends a penny to Ukraine.”
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