US aid package needed within a month, says Volodymyr Zelenskyy

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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told the US that Ukraine needs the $60bn aid currently stuck in a congressional stand-off within a month.

Zelenskyy said the long-awaited package was about military not financial support and that he was unsure Ukraine would be able to find the types and amounts of weapons it needed if the funding did not materialise.

“Our position on the battlefield will be weaker [without it],” Zelenskyy said, speaking at a conference in Kyiv on Sunday.

He gave the example of US-made Patriot air-defence systems, which have helped protect key cities from Russian missiles, but cost around $1.5bn and which Ukraine could not afford without US support.

Zelenskyy said Europe could not replace the US in terms of weapons supply, pointing to the continent’s shortage of air-defence systems, although he said it could supply more long-range missiles.

The EU has provided Ukraine with a €50bn aid package, but this is mostly financial rather than military support.

If the US does not pass the bill, “it will leave me wondering what world we are living in”, Zelenskyy said, but added that he was confident that the US Congress would ultimately agree to the package. Although Ukraine would “search for others, loans and exert pressure on partners” if needed, he added.

In a show of solidarity with Ukraine, western leaders arrived in Kyiv on Saturday to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. But the main thrust of western backing still lies in the US aid package which is beyond the control of the White House or Europe.

Following Zelenskyy’s comments, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan pressed Republican congressional leaders to unlock assistance to Ukraine.

“We need money to be able to provide the weapons to Ukraine. We don’t have the money. Only Congress can provide the money,” Sullivan said in an interview…