Updated December 12, 2023 at 10:19 AM ET
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with senators today as part of a last-ditch push to convince Congress to approve more U.S. weapons and aid for his country in order to push back against Russia's invasion.
Zelenskyy spoke at an all-senators briefing on Capitol Hill as part of of a full day of meetings pressing his case for aid that will end with a White House press conference alongside President Biden.
The visit comes at a critical moment. Biden has asked Congress for more than $60 billion in aid for Ukraine but has so far been rebuffed.
Senators leaving the meeting said Zelenskyy received a warm welcome and gave a presentation about his country's victories in the war against Russia. Zelenskyy also addressed questions about corruption and other concerns.
The meeting comes as Republicans are warning they are unwilling to budge from their demands that any aid for Ukraine must be paired with significant changes in policies at the U.S. border with Mexico.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla, told reporters that Zelenskyy is clearly aware of that political fight, but focused on his own push for aid.
Biden has long insisted that the U.S. will stick by Ukraine in its fight against Russia for as long as it takes, but Republican support has waned as the war has dragged on.
Biden included his funding request for Ukraine as part of a larger request for more than $105 billion in supplemental national security funding that also includes aid for Israel, for countering China in the Indo-Pacific and for beefing up security at the U.S. southern border.
Republicans want big concessions on border policy
But many Republican lawmakers have said they will not vote for any more money for Ukraine unless it is attached to significant border policy measures. Immigration is a top concern for Republican voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
The number of migrants crossing the southern U.S. border is at an all-time high. A bipartisan group of senators has been negotiating for weeks, looking to reach a compromise on tougher border policies, but talks broke down last week with Republicans saying Democrats were not taking their demands seriously.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has insisted any security spending should be tied to a hardline immigration bill that passed the House this year. That legislation has zero support from Democrats, setting up a standoff over policy that could be insurmountable.
Johnson told an audience Monday at the Wall Street Journal's CEO Council Summit that he would tell Zelenskyy that border security demands will not change.
"This is an important battle for all the reasons we know, but I don't think it's a radical proposition to say that if we're going to have a national security supplemental package, it ought to begin with our own national security," Johnson said.
Biden: "We can't let Putin win"
Time is running out on reaching a deal. Lawmakers are about to leave Washington for the holidays. And the White House says it will run out of money to support Ukraine by the end of the month.
"History's going to judge harshly those who turn their back on freedom's cause," Biden said last week. "We can't let Putin win."
U.S. officials have warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be emboldened by a win in Ukraine to pursue Eastern European countries that are members of NATO — countries that the United States is obligated to defend in what would be a more expensive and dangerous fight.
Zelenskyy told G7 leaders last week that Putin is banking on the U.S. and other Western nations growing tired of the war.
"Russia hopes only for one thing — that next year the free world's consolidation will collapse," he said. "Russia believes that America and Europe will show weakness and will not maintain support for Ukraine at the proper level."
His wife, Olena Zelenska, has been even more explicit. In an interview with the BBC, Zelenska called any drop in aid as a "mortal danger."
"We cannot get tired of the situation because otherwise we will die. And if the world gets tired, they will simply let us die," she said.
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