INSKEEP: He'd been putting a hold on Senate votes to approve those promotions. MARTIN: Back here in the U.S., after nine months, Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville has allowed more than 400 military promotions to proceed. MARTIN: That's NPR's Joanna Kakissis in Kyiv. The mood around the country is much more pessimistic than it was last year. KAKISSIS: And so it feels like this will be a very bleak winter. And that's a long way we have to go still. People understand that if you want to get victory and to take one village and to put one flag, it costs a lot. SOLOMIIA BOBROVSKA: These days, people are exhausted. I spoke to a member of Ukraine's parliament, Solomiia Bobrovska, as she serves on the defense committee, and she tells me what she's hearing from her constituents. Well, the ground operations for Ukraine's counteroffensive are largely stalled, in part because Russian forces have fortified their positions and land mined the front, especially in the south. MARTIN: And what about the Ukrainian counteroffensive that we've heard so much about? They're hiding in basements, and the Russians are advancing. Now only a few hundred residents remain in Avdiivka. It also has Ukraine's largest coke plant. Before the war, it had about 32,000 people. The most difficult battle is around a town called Avdiivka. For the last couple of months, Russian forces have been pushing hard to capture Ukrainian land on two fronts in the east. Well, even as winter sets in, parts of the front line are on fire. MARTIN: So, Joanna, tell us more about what's happening on the battlefield now. KAKISSIS: He's saying, if what we're talking about here is decreasing or stopping aid or the supply of weapons, of course this means that Ukraine will lose more territory. PAVLO KAZARIN: (Non-English language spoken). I spoke with a Ukrainian journalist and soldier, Pavlo Kazarin, about this, and he told me that all this uncertainty only helps Russia. Orban is close to the Kremlin, as is another EU leader, the prime minister of Slovakia. And right now, the prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, he says he opposes more aid to Ukraine, as well as opening EU membership talks. But any decisions, Michel, require the approval of all 27 member states. And they're also set to decide whether to open membership talks with Ukraine. They're supposed to meet next week to discuss a budget that includes the equivalent of about $54 billion in military and economic aid to Ukraine. Well, it turns out that the leaders of the European Union are also divided. MARTIN: And what about the European Union, Ukraine's other major supporter? And they're closer to the action, frankly. Zelenskyy's chief of staff, though, is in D.C., and Ukraine's foreign minister insists that the Ukrainians are lobbying everyone to make sure the funding comes through. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was supposed to speak via video link to the Senate, but he canceled at the last minute. Republicans say they won't approve a spending bill that includes $61 billion for Ukraine unless there's money for a border wall with Mexico. aid to Ukraine is set to run out at the end of this year, and now it looks unlikely that Congress will approve new aid before then. KAKISSIS: So, Michel, let's start with the United States, which has been, perhaps, Ukraine's biggest global champion. MARTIN: So why is aid to Ukraine up in the air right now? MARTIN: NPR's Ukraine correspondent Joanna Kakissis is with us from Kyiv to tell us more about all this. Ukraine's counteroffensive has stalled, and Russian forces are advancing. Congress is frozen, and the White House says Russia will win this war without more funding.īad timing. Ukraine is facing a crisis over billions in military and economic aid from its most important backers, the United States and the European Union.
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