CIA Director William Burns told Zelenskyy that additional US aid to Ukraine might be difficult to obtain. The two men met in secret in Kyiv earlier this month to discuss the war, The Washington Post reported. Their meeting comes as Russia launches an aggressive assault in eastern Ukraine. Something is loading.
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During a secret meeting in Kyiv with CIA Director William Burns earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy focused particularly on the prospect of future US aid in the ongoing war effort and on whether or not House Republican lawmakers will continue to provide spending, according to The Washington Post.
Unnamed sources told the outlet that Burns traveled to the Ukrainian capital late last week to meet with Zelenskyy and discuss the agency’s forecast of Russia’s impending military plans. The visit comes nearly a year after Russia launched an unprovoked war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Burns’ trip coincides with mounting casualties on both sides, as a Russian assault in the east forced Ukraine to react while simultaneously trying to conserve weapons and bodies for a future counteroffensive.
At the Kyiv meeting last week, Zelenskyy and his senior intelligence officials were most concerned about ongoing US aid, sources told the Post, asking Burns how long Ukraine could expect to that aid continues in the wake of the Republican takeover of the House and dwindling support. for war among the American electorate.
Burns reportedly responded by acknowledging that additional help is likely to become more difficult to obtain in the future, according to the newspaper, while pointing to the current combat burden on the battlefield.
Neither the CIA nor the State Department immediately responded to Insider’s request for comment.
Despite the uncertain nature of ongoing aid, Zelenskyy left his meeting with Burns assured that the Biden administration continues to support the plight of Ukraine, The Post reported, citing people familiar with the rally.
The $45 billion aid package that Congress approved for Ukraine in December is expected to last until July or August, Zelenskyy said, according to the outlet, but questions remain about whether Congress would consider to adopt another program of this type.
Many Republican lawmakers rallied behind less foreign war spending, and the party took control of the House of Representatives earlier this month.
CIA Director Burns forged a reliable relationship with Zelenskyy in the 11 months since the outbreak of war, secretly visiting the country in October, where he shared intelligence with Ukrainian officials in a show of American support for the country.
Burns also met Zelenskyy in secret just before the Russian invasion last year, sharing important intelligence that the Russians were plotting to assassinate the Ukrainian president, Chris Whipple reported in his forthcoming book, “The Fight of His Life : Inside Joe Biden’s White House”. .”