Biden presses Republicans on Ukraine aid

STORY: “Stop playing games. Get this done.”

U.S. President Joe Biden is pressing congressional Republicans to back a bill to provide more aid to Ukraine... after a stopgap-funding bill that avoided a government shutdown left aid for the country out.

Ukraine funding was dropped at the insistence of some hardline Republicans.

Without the bill, millions of federal employees would have been without a paycheck and a wide range of services would have been cut.

On Sunday, Biden said he expected Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to keep his commitment to secure funding, but asked whether he could trust McCarthy on another deal, Biden replied:

"We just made one about Ukraine, so we'll find out."

A White House official said the president was referring to Republican promises of passing a separate bill on the issue.

“Look at me. We're going to get it done. I can't believe those who voted for you, supporting Ukraine, the overwhelming majority of the House and Senate, Democrat and Republican, will, for pure political reasons, let more people die needlessly in Ukraine.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a speech released on Sunday said nothing could “shut down” Ukraine’s resolve to fight against Russia, although he didn't mention Washington's turmoil directly.

Ukraine’s defense minister said separately that he had received reassurances of further military assistance in a call with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Meanwhile, In Kyiv, the European Union’s foreign policy chief on Sunday said the bloc would increase military support for the country, and, in a social media post, said it was preparing “long-term security commitments.”