WASHINGTON, United States – The White House issued a stark warning Monday that U.S. aid to Ukraine will expire by the end of 2023, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin could win the war if Congress doesn’t approve new ones Funds approved.

President Joe Biden’s budget director, Shalanda Young, said in a blunt letter to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson that drying up military aid would “bring Kiev’s fight against the Russian invasion to its knees.”

Democrat Biden asked Congress in October for a massive $106 billion national security package, including military aid for Ukraine and for Israel’s war against Hamas, but the funding got stuck in disagreements on Capitol Hill.

“There is no magic pot of funding to meet this moment. We are out of money and almost out of time,” Young wrote.

“Disrupting the flow of U.S. weapons and equipment will bring Ukraine to its knees on the battlefield, not only endangering Ukraine’s achievements but also increasing the likelihood of Russian military victories.”

National security adviser Jake Sullivan went further, suggesting that rejecting aid to Ukraine was effectively a vote to make it easier for Russia to succeed.

“Congress must decide whether to continue to support the fight for freedom in Ukraine … or whether Congress will ignore the lessons we have learned from history and let Putin prevail,” Sullivan told reporters at the White House.

“It’s that simple. It’s such a stark decision.”

“JUDGMENT OF HISTORY”

Ukraine is desperate for more Western help as Russian forces step up attacks over the winter after Kiev’s summer counteroffensive failed.

But Congress has been paralyzed for months by Republican infighting, with far-right lawmakers notably opposed to any further aid to Kiev as the war enters its third year.

Speaker Johnson, who took office in October after his predecessor was overthrown in a right-wing coup, reacted coolly to the White House letter.

“The Biden administration has failed to substantively address one of the legitimate concerns of my conference regarding the lack of a clear strategy in Ukraine,” Johnson said Monday on X, formerly Twitter.

Johnson also reiterated Republicans’ insistence that any aid to Ukraine be tied to changes in U.S. policy on the southern border with Mexico as the number of migrants arriving increases.

Biden portrays Putin and Hamas as twin forces seeking to “destroy” neighboring democracies and has sought to link $61 billion for Ukraine to $14 billion for Israel in the aid package he called for in October , along with funding the border.

Democratic U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the “judgement of history will be harsh indeed” if Congress fails to act.

He added that the issue was not real, but that Republicans had “introduced partisan and extreme immigration measures into the debate.”

“You can bet Vladimir Putin is watching. Hamas is watching. Iran, President Xi, North Korea – all our adversaries, they are watching closely.”

Putin “won’t create peace”

Ukraine’s front line remained largely static last year despite a massive advance by Ukrainian forces using Western military technology over the summer.

The United States has already committed $111 billion to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022, including $67 billion for military procurement, Young said.

European countries also face the challenge of securing funding for Ukraine as war fatigue sets in.

Fears are growing in Washington that Putin may be content to wait out the situation until the 2024 U.S. presidential election, a likely repeat of the 2020 contest between Biden and Donald Trump.

Polls show that a growing number of voters say the United States is doing too much to help Kiev.

“I think my expectation is that Putin will not make peace or meaningful peace until he sees the outcome of our election,” a senior State Department official told reporters last week.

The official wouldn’t say why, but Moscow is widely seen as a supporter of a return for Trump, who has praised the Russian leader and questioned U.S. aid to Ukraine.