(Washington) The US defense and foreign secretaries urged Congress on Tuesday to continue providing aid to Ukraine, warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to use the war between Israel and Hamas to weaken Western support for Kyiv.
Democratic President Joe Biden has requested a package of more than $105 billion from the US Congress, which includes military aid for Ukraine and Israel. But many Republicans, who believe that Washington has already given a lot to Kyiv, are opposed to linking the two.
“Putin is really looking to profit from the Hamas attack on Israel in the hope that it will distract us […] and that it will lead the United States to withdraw its resources” from Ukraine, said the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken before a Senate committee.
During the same hearing, devoted to aid to Ukraine and Israel, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that Vladimir Putin would succeed in his attempt to conquer Ukrainian territory by force if the United States stopped supporting Kyiv.
“I can guarantee you that without our support, Putin will be victorious,” he said. “If we pull the rug out from under their feet now, Putin will only become stronger and he will succeed in doing what he wants: taking possession of his neighbor’s sovereign territory,” he added.
Washington is the largest provider of military aid to Ukraine, having committed tens of billions of dollars since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
But Joe Biden’s promise to continue to financially support Ukraine is jeopardized by opposition from the right wing of the Republicans.
Blinken said any cut in US aid to Ukraine risks encouraging other countries to do the same.
“The message it would send […] to each of these countries is that the United States is abandoning ship, so why don’t we do the same thing,” he said.
Mr. Austin, for his part, stressed that the additional aid not only “responds to the urgent challenges of today”, but that it also represents an investment in the American defense industry.
Hearing disrupted by demonstrators
Antony Blinken will visit Israel on Friday as part of a new tour of the Middle East as the war between Israel and Hamas enters its 25e day, his spokesperson announced Tuesday evening.
There he “will meet with Israeli government officials and make other stops in the region,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters, without specifying which ones.
Israeli media previously reported the visit, citing Israeli officials.
Mr. Blinken had already made a marathon tour of the region around ten days ago, visiting Israel twice and several Arab countries.
The US secretary of state also said during the hearing that the Palestinian Authority should regain control of the Gaza Strip from Hamas, and that international third parties could perhaps play a role in an interim period. .
“At some point, what would make the most sense would be for an effective and reinvigorated Palestinian Authority to have responsibility for the governance and, ultimately, security of Gaza,” he said.
The hearing was interrupted several times by demonstrators demanding to “save the children of Gaza,” who first silently raised their hands covered in red paint to symbolize the blood shed in the Palestinian territory.
PHOTO SAUL LOEB, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Then every few minutes, one would stand up and shout, “Ceasefire now.”
“Palestinians are not animals,” shouted one demonstrator. “Shame on you all,” said another.
“Fierce fighting” on the ground with Hamas is taking place in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army said on Tuesday, which is advancing slowly amid the ruins of the Palestinian territory, where the “disastrous” humanitarian situation according to the UN continues. to get worse.
More than 8,525 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed since the start of incessant bombardments by the Israeli army on the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
On October 7, Hamas commandos infiltrated southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, carrying out a bloody attack on civilians on a scale and violence not seen since Israel’s creation in 1948.
In retaliation, Israel declared war to “wipe out” Hamas.