WASHINGTON
\nUS President Joe Biden made a fresh plea to Congress to pass aid for Ukraine during a visit by the Czech prime minister Monday, as a fight brews about whether it should be linked to funds for Israel.
\nRepublican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday he aims to advance wartime aid to Israel this week following Iran\u2019s weekend attack, but the White House says it will block any bill that contains nothing for Kyiv.
\n\u201cCongress has to pass continued funding\u201d for Ukraine \u201cand they have to do it now,\u201d Democrat Biden said as he hosted Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala at the White House. \u201cThere\u2019s overwhelming support in the House and Senate if people will just let a vote take place.\u201d
\nBiden hailed the Czech leader as a \u201cgreat ally\u201d for his strong support for Ukraine since Russia\u2019s 2022 invasion, including securing nearly one million rounds of ammunition for Kyiv as US funding dries up.
\n\u201cAs the Czech Republic remembers, Russia won\u2019t stop in Ukraine and the impact on NATO would be significant. Putin\u2019s going to keep going, putting Europe, the United States and the entire world at risk if we don\u2019t stop him,\u201d Biden said. After shaking hands with Biden in the Oval Office, Fiala thanked the US president for his leadership in mustering Western support of Kyiv.
\nUS assistance has languished in a divided Congress, with Johnson \u2014 an ally of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump \u2014 blocking an earlier $95 billion in aid sought by Biden for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, which had passed the Senate.
\nThe White House ruled out any bill that only contained aid for Israel.
\n\u201cWe will not accept a standalone. A standalone would not help Israel and Ukraine,\u201d White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a briefing.
\nJohnson is walking a knife-edge on aid for Ukraine, as Trump and far-right lawmakers in the House of Representatives have grown skeptical of pouring billions of dollars into Kyiv\u2019s fight against Russia\u2019s invading forces.
\nUkraine has in recent months grown increasingly frustrated at delays in Western aid, including air defenses it says are urgently needed to repel deadly Russian attacks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON US President Joe Biden made a fresh plea to Congress to pass aid for Ukraine during a visit by the Czech prime minister Monday, as a fight brews about whether it should be linked to funds for Israel. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday he aims to advance wartime aid to Israel this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397155,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-400649","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n