NBC host Kristen Welker pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the possible timeline of their war against Russia Sunday, following the House’s approval of more foreign aid funding.
Zelenskyy appeared on “Meet the Press” to discuss the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Following the House’s approval of providing the country with an additional $60.8 billion in assistance, Welker questioned Zelenskyy on the effects it will have and if the country would still need more aid next year. (RELATED: House Passes Mike Johnson’s Foreign Aid Package)
“But President Zelenskyy, can you give Americans a sense of the timeline? Will you still need as much aid this time next year? Or do you think you can turn the corner on Russia? What’s the timeline?” Welker asked.
Zelenskyy, however, avoided giving Welker an exact timeline stating that due to the setbacks for the country and the pace that additional aid is coming in, like weapons, it is “difficult” to “forecast” the war’s end.
“Well, it depends on when we actually get weapons on the ground. As you said, Kristen, if we get them in half a year — but we’ve had the process stalled for half a year, and we have losses in several directions. The losses in men, in equipment — in the east it was very difficult. We did lose the initiative there. Now we have all the chance to stabilize the situation and to overtake the initiative. And that’s why we need to actually have the weapon systems,” Zelenskyy stated.
“When we get it, when we have it in our arms, then we do have the chance to take this initiative and to move ahead and to protect Ukraine. But giving the U.S. specific timeline of the war, well, it depends on how soon we get this aid. There are so many variables, so many factors. Sometimes when we protect the important line, you retreat because you don’t have enough forces and equipment — and then retaking, it would take two or three times more. I’m not saying that this is how it’s going to end up, but things are possible.”
“I can give you an example with [an] F-16. It’s a great example. The decision to supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine was headed a year ago, one year ago we got the positive response. Ukraine should receive these fighter jets so that not only air defense protects the sky, but we also have modern jets. A year has passed. We still don’t have the jets in Ukraine. So it’s very difficult to do any forecast. I would like us to be open and very, very specific. From the moment we get our hands on these weapon systems, well from that moment we can talk about the timeline,” Zelenskyy stated.
After a series of votes Saturday, the House approved Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson’s package of foreign aid bills. Although Johnson initially stated last year that foreign funding wouldn’t be approved until lawmakers addressed the country’s southern border crisis, Johnson claimed Saturday that the aid “forces an end-game strategy for the Ukraine war.”
In addition to billions for Ukraine, $15 billion in military aid and $9 billion for humanitarian aid will go to Israel, with $8 billion going to Taiwan, along with a bill with measures intending to pressure Iran and China.