Secretary Blinken warns that lack of further U.S. aid to Ukraine could undermine global security

"There’s no magic pot of money," Blinken said.

“If we don’t get that money, it’s a real problem. It’s a real problem for Ukraine. I think it’s a problem for us and our leadership around the world.”

The Biden administration is "working very hard" to get Congress to approve the additional funding. Blinken expressed his belief that there is bipartisan support for such assistance in both chambers, but emphasized that it needs to be "landed."

Of the money that the U.S. Congress is being asked to approve, $50 billion will be spent directly in the United States to purchase equipment for defending Ukraine.

According to Blinken, Russia continues to suffer a strategic defeat in Ukraine, and the United States has "a strong interest in making sure that persists," Blinken stated.

"If we let Putin get away with this, if we drop our guard and everything we’re doing for Ukraine, then you open a Pandora’s Box and he will not stop with Ukraine,” he said.

“Other would-be aggressors in other parts of the world… they’ll take the lesson.”

The Secretary of State stressed that Russia's war against Ukraine is "not forever," so the country's spending on aid will not be "forever" either.

While the United States is helping Ukraine defend itself, it is also working to ensure that Ukraine can "stand on its own two feet" militarily, economically, and democratically, Blinken said.

The United States announced its last military aid package to date, worth $250 million, on Dec. 27.

A bill to fund approximately $106 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan failed a procedural vote in the Senate on Dec. 6, due to Republican demands for stricter migration policy.

U.S. President Joe Biden called on Congress to urgently approve an aid package for Ukraine so that Washington would not have to send U.S. troops to fight Russian forces.

Republicans sought to use Ukraine funding as leverage in negotiations to strengthen the border with Mexico.

Bloomberg reported on Dec. 18, citing the Pentagon, that by Dec. 30, the U.S. Department of Defense would run out of funds to purchase new weapons to replace equipment sent to Ukraine.

Fox News, citing a Republican lawmaker, reported on Jan. 16 that U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson would not accept any border security agreement between the Senate and the White House that might unblock aid to Ukraine.

The White House announced on the same day that Biden would hold a meeting with Congressional leaders to discuss the national security spending bill.