Ukraine Awaits Dialogue on New US Aid Packages
KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine has not yet discussed new military aid packages with the U.S., the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office said, amid uncertainty about additional support from Washington for Kyiv's fight against Russia's full-scale invasion.
"As for new aid packages, we have not yet had a dialogue with the American side on this topic," Pavlo Palisa said in remarks to journalists on Wednesday.
Palisa, who works on national security and defence in the presidential office, was referring to discussions with U.S. representatives in meetings he attended in Saudi Arabia in March.
The first meeting resulted in a resumption of previously approved American aid to Ukraine, after Kyiv said it was ready to support a 30-day ceasefire proposal.
However, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson said in February there was "no appetite" for another funding bill for Ukraine.
In late March the U.S. reached separate deals with Ukraine and Russia, which included proposals to pause their attacks at sea and against energy targets. Since then Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of continued strikes on energy facilities.
Palisa said the Ukrainian side informed the Americans about Russian violations of the moratorium on energy strikes, and still considered the agreement about it with the U.S. to be valid.
According to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter, American officials in recent days discussed the likelihood that Washington would be unable to secure a Ukraine peace deal in the next few months and were drawing up new plans to pressure both Kyiv and Moscow.
When asked whether Ukraine could carry on without U.S. aid, Palisa said it would be difficult "but we have no other option."
He said that Ukrainian approaches to the conflict have continuously evolved throughout the war to work around a lack of resources.
U.S. Army General Christopher Cavoli said on Thursday that any U.S. cutoff in the provision of weapons and intelligence would be extremely harmful to Ukraine's war effort, despite Kyiv's attempts to diversify its weapons suppliers.
Palisa, a former commander of Ukraine's 93rd Brigade, said that on his most recent visit to the frontline, he saw that servicemen maintained their fighting spirit.
"It is important that our partners understand this: we are ready to fight," he said.
(Reporting by Anastasiia Malenko, Editing by William Maclean)
