Continuation of the war in Ukraine and doubts about sending aid from Western countries

In this context, former assistant to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, now disgraced Alexey Arestovich, said: “Kyiv must stop humiliating itself and put an end to the illusion that it will soon become a member of the European Union and NATO.” Referring to the recent decision by the Council of the European Union in mid-December to begin negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the bloc, Arestovich said: "No matter how much we welcome membership in NATO and the European Union, no one welcomes us in these alliances." He said: “The price of Ukraine's possible membership in NATO is the start of a big war with Russia, and the West is not ready to pay that price. Therefore, Kyiv should accept reality and, instead of illusions of returning to the borders of 1991 and membership in the European Union and NATO, begin to develop its own path.” In this regard, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that Ukraine does not have a Plan B when reducing Western assistance. This was reported by CNN. “We don’t have plan B. We are confident in plan A,” Kuleba said. The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry explained that Kiev hopes that Western allies will continue to provide military support. If this assistance is terminated or significantly reduced, Kuleba said, Ukraine will continue to fight with the resources available. Before this, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that “it is possible to work with Donald Trump as the President of the United States.” Kuleba recalled that it was under Trump that the first military supplies from the United States began for the Ukrainian Armed Forces - Javelin man-portable anti-tank missile systems, naval vessels and boats of the Island and Mark-6 type. Meanwhile, independent U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema said lawmakers are nearing an agreement that could approve billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine and the Israeli regime. Recently, John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, acknowledged that Washington provided the last aid package to Ukraine before the new year, and the delivery of additional aid needs congressional approval. State Department spokesman Patrick Ryder explained that while the Pentagon is authorized to spend another $4.2 billion in arms assistance to Ukraine, the actual funding is not available and must be approved by Congress. US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, noting that Ukraine should expect reductions in US aid in the future, expressed hope that Ukraine will eventually be helped to build a military industrial base and will be able to produce its own ammunition. Among European countries, Germany still insists on helping Ukraine. In turn, the German government announced that it had provided Ukraine with another package of military assistance, including ammunition for Leopard 2 tanks, Marder infantry fighting vehicles, Skynex air defense systems and other equipment. The moves come as the Kremlin has repeatedly warned against sending Western weapons to Ukraine, saying the process would escalate the armed conflict. In this regard, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: “Any supply of weapons to Ukraine becomes a legitimate target for attacks from Moscow.”