After being stalled for several months, the US House of Representatives in April finally approved an aid package for Ukraine worth around SEK 655 billion.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan says the aid could be used in a new counter-offensive next year, which has a clear target.
– To move forward and take back the territory that Russia has taken from them, says Sullivan.
The US aid package was long debated and faced fierce opposition from the Republican side for several months. At the end of April, it was finally approved by the US House of Representatives.
“I am grateful to the US House of Representatives, the parties, and personally to Speaker Mike Johnson for the decision that keeps history on track,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote after the announcement.
Hoping for an offensive in 2025
In an interview with Financial Times says US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan that the aid should be used to stop Russian advances in 2024, and to try to launch a new counter-offensive in 2025.
According to Sullivan, the new support should give Ukraine the capacity to “hold the line” and withstand the Russian attacks during the year. But for next year, the goal of the support is more forward-looking.
– To move forward and take back the territory that Russia has taken from them, says Sullivan.
Zelenskyy: Need American weapons for an offensive
A new counter-offensive from the Ukrainian side, however, would depend on more American support. At the same time, the United States is going to presidential elections in early November. Most likely, the election will be between Republican Donald Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden.
Trump has previously promised that he will end the war quickly and has also been skeptical of Ukraine support. In an interview with German Bild in April, Zelenskyi said that he had already invited Trump to Ukraine.
– We expressed a wish that Donald Trump would come to Ukraine so that he could see the situation with his own eyes and draw certain conclusions. I am definitely willing to meet him, Zelenskyy said.
According to Zelenskyi, Trump should have said that he wants to go over to Ukraine, but that he does not know when he can do it. President Zelenskyi has also confirmed that a counteroffensive has been planned, but that it also requires weapons from the United States.
– We will definitely win. We have no alternative. But I cannot promise it and give a date, Zelenskyy said.