As support sags, experts grapple with West's flagging resolve in crucial Ukraine aid debate
The Kyiv Security Forum will hold an online discussion at 7 p.m. EET on Dec. 15 on the prospects of Western assistance to protect Ukraine from Russian aggression.
Orban blocked new EU budget spending for Ukraine worth EUR 50 billion ($54.7 billion) on Dec. 15.
This step is called constructive abstention in Brussels. According to Euractiv's sources, it allows important decisions to be made without the participation of some members – "if someone is not present, then they are not present."
The decision was initiated by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who suggested that Orban"take a break and leave the room, and he did so" while other leaders of the bloc approved the start of negotiations with Ukraine.
A source close to European Council President Charles Michel said that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban left the room at the moment when EU leaders decided to start negotiations with Ukraine on accession to the bloc.
Read also: Majority of Ukrainians support continuing hostilities even with reduced Western aid
The European Council decided to start EU accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, and granted candidate status to Georgia on Dec. 14.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Dec. 15 his intention to vote on a significant military aid package for Ukraine and Israel next week.
Reports emerged on Dec. 14 that the U.S. Senate would postpone the start of the Christmas recess amid negotiations between Democrats and Republicans on U.S. border security and aid to Ukraine.
However, radical Republicans still believe the proposal is not harsh enough.
According to Bloomberg, Biden has proposed a package of border changes that would increase the chances of aid to Ukraine. The proposal gives the president expanded powers to deport migrants after a certain number of undocumented migrants cross the border.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President Joe Biden on Dec. 12. During a press conference after the meeting, Biden said that the United States would support Ukraine "as long as we can," but that without additional funding, the possibilities are running out.
Before the vote, Biden called on Congress to urgently pass an aid package for Ukraine so that the United States does not have to send U.S. troops to fight Russian forces.
A bill to fund about $106 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan failed a procedural vote in the U.S. Senate on Dec. 6 due to Republican demands for a stricter border policy.
The Kyiv Security Forum, founded by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation, is the main international platform for discussing issues of war and peace, national and global security.
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Danylo Lubkivsky, Director of the Kyiv Security Forum.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum, Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2014-2016.
Philip Zelikow, White Burkett Miller Professor of History at the University of Virginia, Advisor to the U.S. Department of State in 2005-2007;
Ambassador Michael McFaul, Director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for InternationalStudies at Stanford University;
Andrius Kubilius, Member of the Security Council of the KSF, Member of the European Parliament, Prime Minister of Lithuania in 1999-2000 and 2008-2012;
Lawrence Summers, President Emeritus and Professor of Economics at Harvard University, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury in 1999-2001;
These and other questions will be discussed by well-known politicians and diplomats at the invitation of the KSF, including:
“What results will the European Union Summit of Dec. 14-15 bring to Ukraine?”
and
“What are the chances of the U.S. Congress approving a decision on a new amount of aid to Kyiv?”
“Will the promises to support Ukraine "as long as necessary" be kept?”
Topics for debate include:
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
