President Joe Biden blamed Congress’ failure to approve the aid for Ukraine’s retreat from the front-line city of Avdiivka, which handed Russia a battlefield victory after months of fighting.
An aid package has been passed by the Senate but is indefinitely held up in the House of Representatives amid wider wrangling over US border controls. The Ukraine tracker estimates that Europe would have to double the rate of its support this year to compensate for the lack of American weapons.
US Republican Senator J. D. Vance, who opposes aid to Ukraine, speaks at the Munich Security Conference.Credit: AP
Forrest’s concern at the current state of the US debate follows fierce criticism from former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott of the Republicans earlier this month, labelling them “shameful” for holding the country “hostage to some other political objective”.
“It is absolutely in the interest of every free country that Putin’s aggression fails,” Abbott said.
The US has already approved $US44.2 billion in military aid for Ukraine but Democrats and Republicans have been sharply divided over continuing support, with allies of former US President Donald Trump insisting the funds be spent on domestic issues, including border security.
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Forrest said although Australia was not part of NATO, its taxpayers were spending more than 2 per cent of GDP in defence spending annually, and was a key partner in countering China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.
“We are critical to the United States… we’re pivotal in the Asia-Pacific, in the Global South, for United States outreach of power (and) that will dwindle to dust with the Australian electorate if the United States is being seen in any way – by any leader – as being pro-Russia,” he said.
According to a statement from Zelensky’s office, the president thanked Forrest for his active public support of Ukraine and assistance in implementing humanitarian projects, in particular the construction of housing for internally displaced Ukrainian families who lost their homes due to the war.
In November 2022 Forrest committed $740 million to a global Ukraine investment fund for reconstruction.
Zelensky’s office said during the meeting, special attention was paid to the issues of rebuilding Ukraine, involving large global financial and industrial companies in projects to “restore our country from the consequences of Russian aggression”.
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