Yellen says the U.S. would be ‘responsible for Ukraine’s defeat’ if aid fails in Congress.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated on Tuesday that the United States would be “responsible for Ukraine’s defeat” if Congress does not accept the most recent financing request for the war-torn country, which is a multi-billion dollar request from the administration of Vice President Joe Biden.

During a trip to Mexico City, Yellen told reporters that the cash, particularly for supporting the general government budget in Ukraine, was “utterly essential” and a prerequisite for maintaining the flow of support from the International Monetary Fund to Ukraine.

Several of my colleagues and I have had conversations with members of Congress. “I believe that they are aware of this, that this is a precarious circumstance, and that we can be held accountable for Ukraine’s defeat if we are unable to provide the necessary funding to Ukraine, and I am including direct budget support in this discussion because it is of the utmost importance,” Yellen stated.

At an earlier time on Tuesday, the chief of staff for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that the deferral of United States assistance presented a “big risk” that Ukraine would lose its battle against Russia’s invasion, which has been going on for over two years.

Later, Zelenskiy abandoned his intentions to address Congress to request assistance from the United States directly. This decision was made because Congress was struggling to deal with Republican demands that the assistance be tied to a reorganization of the United States’ immigration and border policy. Legislators in the United States have been discussing a supplementary spending plan that would be worth more than one hundred billion dollars and include funds for the border and assistance to Israel and Ukraine.

Yellen stated that the assistance the United States provides for Ukraine is also crucial for the United States partners in Europe, who are giving more generous support to assist Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.

“The Ukraine is just about to run out of money,” Yellen pointed out. “They’re’ spending more than every penny they’re taking in, in tax revenue, on military salaries and defense, and they wouldn’t’ have any schools, hospitals, or first responders if not for the money we’re’ sending to them to support them.”

“Very strong controls to guard against any misuse of the funds, any corruption,” Yellen said, adding that the government budget support was channeled through the World Bank, which has solid anti-corruption safeguards to ensure that the money goes to the intended uses. Yellen’s comments were made about the United States’ assistance to Russia.