Zelenskyy takes an apparent dig at Congress over military aid: 'Dictators do not go on vacation'

WASHINGTON – Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the West to swiftly and decisively aid Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s invasion while taking an apparent swipe at Congress for its continued stalemate over foreign assistance.

“First, we all must do not something, but everything possible to defeat the aggressor,” Zelenskyy said at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. “Please, everyone remember that dictators do not go on vacation.”

Both the House and Senate are out of session for the next week while Congress has been at a standstill over passing a foreign aid package that includes continued U.S. assistance to Ukraine, which Zelenskyy has pleaded for.

“The bolder and more active America was along with the others on the right side of history, the more successful freedom was,” Zelenskyy said in his remarks of the U.S.’s role in preserving democracy. “The world would have long been divided among the dreams of a few dictatorships if it was not the American dream that always left enough space for the people’s dreams.

Zelenskyy said later on Saturday through a translator during a news conference alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, that the package is a "way forward." The weapons would not ensure victory for Ukraine, he acknowledged. "But moving forward is much much better than stagnation on the battlefield."

Congress has so far failed to pass a national security and foreign aid spending deal in part because of House Republicans’ adamance that any foreign aid must be passed along with changes in border and migrant policy.

“National security begins with border security,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters on Tuesday.

A small group of bipartisan Senate negotiators, blessed by their party leaders and colleagues in the upper chamber to hash out the deal, released a foreign aid spending deal that included sweeping changes to border and migrant policy, but the bill was later effectively killed by House Republicans who said the deal wasn’t enough to address the crisis on the southern border.

In response, the Senate passed standalone legislation with the foreign aid spending omitting the border and migrant provisions, but Johnson later released a statement saying any package related to overseas spending but tied to the southern border.

And underscoring just how far Congress still is from passing Ukraine aid, Johnson also told reporters this week he was focused on averting a government shutdown, for which parts of government funding expire on March 1. The lower chamber, he said, still needs time to evaluate the Senate’s foreign aid proposal.

Regardless, Harris reiterated that there is bipartisan consensus in Congress on support for Ukraine in spite of the months of bickering that has prevented the United States from sending the ally additional equipment and cash.

"The United States stands with Ukraine. And we have been proud to stand with Ukraine over the last two years. And President Joe Biden and I will continue to stand with Ukraine," she said as the joint news conference began.

Speaking in Munich on Friday, Harris chided Republicans such as President Donald Trump who do not want to pay for Europe's security.

The Biden administration believes it is in America's strategic interest to defend its allies, she said. "However, there are some in the United States who disagree. They suggest it is in the best interest of the American people to isolate ourselves from the world, to flout common understandings among nations, to embrace dictators and adopt their repressive tactics, and abandon commitments to our allies in favor of unilateral action."

Two times in the past week Trump has suggested the U.S. would not protect countries that are part of the NATO alliance that do not spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense.

Relaying an alleged conversation he says he had while he was president Trump said last weekend that he told the leader of a NATO nation: “You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent? ... No I would not protect you."

Harris was having none of it on Friday.

"I firmly believe our commitment to build and sustain alliances has helped America become the most powerful and prosperous country in the world — alliances that have prevented wars, defended freedom, and maintained stability from Europe to the Indo-Pacific. To put all of that at risk would be foolish," she said.

It is up to Americans to decide, she said, whether the U.S. will remain a global power or "turn inward, whether it is in our interest to defend longstanding rules and norms that have provided for unprecedented peace and prosperity or allow them to be trampled."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Zelenskyy swipes Congress over aid: 'Dictators do not go on vacation'