(NewsNation) — A government shutdown’s impact on federal services could hinder United States aid to Ukraine.
Americans have been vocal about their support for Ukraine in the war against Russia, but that doesn’t mean they want to fund the nation’s success, said Andrij Dobriansky, director of communications for the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.
The U.S. has provided more than $75 billion in assistance to Ukraine so far, including humanitarian and military support, according to the German research group Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
“This money isn’t a blank check for Ukraine,” Dobriansky said. “A lot of this money comes to the United States. A lot of it is actually going toward working-class people, whether they’re welders, metal workers — those are the people that are actually making these munitions.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently spoke at the U.N. General Assembly, but some Republicans, like Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, aren’t supportive of providing additional aid.
Dobriansky, however, said he felt good about Zelenskyy’s visit, adding that Ukraine is “redefining what modern warfare is.”
“We really feel that the visit of President Zelenskyy was effective because of the signaling by (House Speaker Kevin) McCarthy that he does not want to break out the Ukraine segment,” Dobriansky said.