Ex-Ukrainian president says US delay in war aid was ‘colossal’ waste, let Putin inflict more damage
Associated PressPHILADELPHIA — Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said the long delay by the U.S. Congress in approving military aid for his country was “a colossal waste of time,” allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to inflict more suffering in the 2-year-old invasion and prolonging the war. It would, he said, “give Putin five or seven years to get stronger and then start this misery again.” On the battlefield, Russia is pushing ahead with a ground offensive that opened a new front in eastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region and put pressure on overstretched Ukrainian forces. After the U.S. aid was approved last month, President Joe Biden said he was immediately rushing badly needed weaponry to Ukraine as he signed into law a $61 billion war aid measure for Ukraine. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday that the Biden administration was “trying to really accelerate the tempo” of U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine following the monthslong delay by Congress.