December meeting of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson with President Vladimir Zelensky influenced Johnson's decision to approve military aid to Ukraine. This is reported by Politico with reference to sources, reports UNN.
Politico reports that during a December meeting with Johnson, Zelensky made clear how long Ukraine can withstand a new onslaught of Russian missiles and drones.
"March or April," the President said, according to two sources.
Sources say the December meeting and the gloomy forecast contributed greatly to Johnson's decision to go against his conservative colleagues and come to Ukraine's aid with a $60 billion package.
"Most importantly, it gave Johnson a deadline that the speaker took as his own for the Ukraine aid package," Politico writes.
It is noted that there is no single reason why Johnson, who had previously insisted that support for Ukraine be tied to a Conservative border policy, agreed this time.
Politico reports that the meeting with Zelensky forced Johnson to make an urgent decision about whether to put his speakership on the line to send more weapons to Ukraine.
Supplement
On April 20, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill to aid Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden saidthat weapons and equipment would be sent to Ukraine as early as this week.
The U.S. is preparing the largest military aid package in history to Ukraine, worth $6 billion, including Patriot systems, artillery ammunition, drones, anti-drone weapons and air-to-air missiles, although the equipment could take years to be delivered.