A prominent pro-Ukraine nonprofit slammed the Biden administration on Monday for missing the congressionally mandated deadline to provide a “strategic plan” to end Moscow’s war on Kyiv.
Razom, which advocates for continued assistance to Ukraine, bashed the White House for missing the Saturday deadline set forth in an April supplemental funding bill that provided the $60.8 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine.
The bill, which President Biden signed into law on April 24, included a section mandating his administration provide a strategy for the war within 45 days. The Biden administration has yet to provide any comprehensive strategy, which “conveys confusion,” program director of Razom advocacy Mykola Murskyj exclusively told The Post.
“While we commend President Biden, [House] Speaker [Mike] Johnson, and members of Congress for their work in passing the most recent supplemental appropriations package for Ukraine, we are disappointed to see that the Biden administration missed the June 8th deadline to produce a strategic plan to help ‘hasten Ukrainian victory’ against Russia’s invasion,” Murskyj said in a statement first shared with The Post.
President Biden speaks after signing the foreign aid bill at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 24, 2024. AFP via Getty Images
Razom is based in NYC and has provided assistance to Ukraine for a decade. Razom
The law requires the secretaries of state and defense to “submit to the committees on Appropriations, Armed Services, and Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committees on Appropriations, Armed Services and Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a strategy regarding United States support for Ukraine against aggression by the Russian Federation.”
The strategy “shall be multi-year, establish specific and achievable objectives, define and prioritize United States national security interests, and include the metrics to be used to measure progress in achieving such objectives,” according to the legislation.
Throughout the war, the Biden administration has largely maintained that Ukrainian victory metrics should be decided by Ukrainians.
Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday and reiterated that American support is “unwavering” while presenting the war-torn country with a new package of security assistance, valued at $225 million.
An employee handles 155mm caliber shells at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, Pa., on April 16, 2024. AFP via Getty Images
A mortar unit prepares for a combat mission on May 18, 2024, in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region near the border with Russia. Getty ImagesIn a recent Time interview, Biden laid out his clearest line on Ukraine yet, saying peace means Russia never occupies any part of the country.
“Peace looks like making sure Russia never, never, never, never occupies Ukraine. That’s what peace looks like. And it doesn’t mean NATO, they are part of NATO, it means we have a relationship with them like we do with other countries, where we supply weapons so they can defend themselves in the future,” Biden told the outlet.
Razom said it called on the White House to provide a comprehensive plan in part due to the large number of Americans wondering about the approach to defeat Russia.
“There are those around the United States who wonder whether there is a comprehensive plan to help Ukraine defeat Russia’s invading forces,” Murskyj said. “A patchwork of aid without a strategic plan conveys confusion when we know that President Biden is staunchly pro-Ukraine and anti-Putin.”
President Biden shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris on June 7, 2024. APWith the war approaching its 2.5-year mark, Murskyj said “the time has come to show that freedom can still triumph over tyranny.”
“When the United States won the Cold War and helped the people suffering behind the Iron Curtain to free themselves from tyrants in Moscow, we showed that democracy could triumph over dictatorship,” he said. “The bottom line: Stopping World War III requires stopping Russia’s march into Europe.”
A State Department spokesperson told The Post that the “department is actively working to complete all reporting required under the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act 2024” but declined to comment specifically on its communications with Congress, citing a general policy.
“America’s goal is straightforward: as President Biden has said, we want Ukraine to win. We want to see a democratic, independent, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further Russian aggression,” the spokesperson said.
“The United States supports a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace based on full respect for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, within its internationally recognized borders and consistent with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter,” the spokesperson added.
