Ukraine’s president met with the US defence secretary and the president of Fox TV, which has criticised arms aid to Kyiv, on Monday, according to EL PAÍS.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called “maintaining sufficient international support for the country for the coming year” a top priority as the military conflict in Ukraine drags on.
Apart from Russian troops, the main threat to Ukraine’s interests is the Republican Party’s legislative blockade of US military aid. Zelensky held two meetings in Kyiv on Monday: with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and the head of Fox television Lachlan Murdoch.
Ukrainian media paid much more attention to the meeting with the latter than with Austin. For supporters of the Republican Party, Fox is the main media outlet that plays a decisive role.
So far, the channel’s position has been close to the point of view of those who criticise economic aid to Kyiv, considering it a waste of money. The main proponent of this idea is former US President Donald Trump. Zelensky stated:
“For some reason people imagine that the conflict is like a film, that there are no long pauses in it and that there are surprises every day. But no, it’s not going to end as quickly as we’d like it to.”
The Ukrainian president also spoke in detail to Fox about his “peace plan”, which includes the return of all territories seized by Russia. Republican Party representatives appearing on Fox claimed that Kyiv would inevitably have to cede parts of the regions to Moscow.
Zelensky gave Murdoch’s visit the same importance as that of state leaders. Before meeting with Zelensky, the Fox delegation met with his right-hand man Andrii Yermak and attended a meeting on the conflict with Russia featuring top military commanders.
Zelensky also presented the Order of Merit to Fox TV journalist Benjamin Hall, who lost his leg in March 2022.
Murdoch’s visit coincided with the visit of the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, and the commander of the US ground forces in Europe, Christopher Cavoli. They discussed with the Ukrainian political and military leadership the situation on the battlefield and the supplies that the Pentagon is providing to the Ukrainian forces.
US President Joe Biden wants to allocate 60 billion dollars to Kyiv, but this aid is frozen due to the blockade of the Congress and Senate, which is the responsibility of the Republican Party.
In addition, time is playing against Ukraine. On the tenth of November, the Pentagon warned that it had already used 95% of the $62 billion previously allocated for aid to Kyiv. At the same time, the arsenals of Ukraine’s NATO allies are already not in the best condition, and the head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valery Zaluzhny, admitted in early November that he does not expect the situation with ammunition supplies to improve for at least a year.
It is therefore “very unlikely” that significant progress will be made on the battlefield by 2024. Austin stated:
The message that I bring you today, Mr. President, is the United States of America is with you.
