U.S. National Security Council spokesman: we fully understand why Polish people would be concerned

Legislation that would provide billions of dollars in new security assistance for Ukraine and Israel was blocked in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday (Dec.6).

The vote was 49 in favor to 51 against, meaning the $110.5 billion measure did not obtain the 60 votes needed in the 100-member Senate to pave the way to start debate.

U.S. President Joe Biden has been asking the Congress to allocate funds to support Ukraine for two months now.

Asked by "Fakty" TVN Washington correspondent Marcin Wrona how would countries like Poland be affected should the U.S. ceased to support Ukraine financially, U.S. National Security Council (NSC) spokesman John F. Kirby said: "The money that we’re talking about is for supporting Ukraine. I can’t speak for what Poland will or won’t do".

"As I mentioned in my opening statement, one of Zelenskiy’s top advisors said that without U.S. support, they can risk losing this war. Nobody wants that to happen, except for Putin. So what happens then? He hasn’t given up – Mr. Putin – on his plans to subjugate the whole country. To just wipe it off the face of the map as an independent nation. And if he gets Ukraine, this puts him right up against the eastern flank of NATO. And so we can fully understand why the Polish people would be concerned about that, we’re concerned about that," Kirby said.

"We have helped Ukraine claw back now more than 50 percent of their territory over the last going on two years. Us and our allies, including Poland. And we’ve been able to do it with no foreign troops on the ground, none – no U.S. troops, no Polish troops. They were able to it on their own and they’re still willing to keep doing it. They’re still willing to take back territory, they’re still willing to suffer and sacrifice for their own people and their own country. And the message that it sends if we can’t get additional funds is: well, you’re really on your own now because you’re not even going to get any support, economically or from the security perspective," the NSC spokesman added.

Kirby also stressed that it was a very dangerous time for Ukraine not only because of the impasse on Capitol Hill over the financial aid for Kyiv.

"We got a deadline until the end of year here in terms of our appropriations. But it’s a dangerous time particularly on the calendar in Ukraine, as I said in my opening statement, winter is fast approaching."

"And we know – I went to the podium a few weeks ago and downgraded some information that we had about Putin’s deliberate intentions to weaponize energy, to go after critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine. To, once again, make victims yet again of the Ukrainian people in the coldest months of the year. We’re going to do everything we can to help them through that. But our ability to help them through that very much depends on the support from Capitol Hill," John F. Kirby added.