December 25-December 31 of the week: The US White House warns that military aid to Ukraine could run out by the end of the year.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission in St. Petersburg on 25 July, as well as an informal meeting of the leaders of the CIS countries on 25 and 26 July.
On December 12, 2023 local time, in Washington, USA, U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a joint press conference. The picture in this article is a data map of surging images
U.S. aid to Ukraine will run out of funds by the end of the year
According to a previous report by Chinanews.com, the White House warned that military aid funds to Ukraine may run out by the end of the year.
Saranda Young, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, reportedly issued the urgent warning in a "bluntly worded" letter, the latest move by the U.S. government to pressure Republicans who refuse to aid Ukraine again to drop their opposition. According to the report, Saranda Yang wrote in the letter, "We are running out of money and running out of time. The letter has been sent to the leaders of both parties in the Senate and House of Representatives.
Since the beginning of this year, the United States has not been able to reach a consensus on the issue of funding for Ukraine. According to CCTV News, on December 6, local time, the U.S. Senate failed to pass a spending bill of $110.5 billion, which includes aid to Ukraine and Israel, with 49 votes in favor and 51 votes against. Republicans continue to insist that aid discussions will continue only after the U.S. government has made significant changes to immigration policy. The Senate passed.
On December 19, local time, U.S. Senate Majority Leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer, and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in a joint statement that new aid to Ukraine would not be approved before the end of the year. The White House had said on December 18 that the U.S. aid package for Ukraine, scheduled for later this month, would be the last unless Congress could approve the additional aid bill.
Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the U.S. Congress has allocated a total of $111 billion to support Ukraine, including $67 billion in military procurement funds. The White House Administration and Budget Bureau also warned on the 4th that as of mid-November, all other funds had been exhausted except for about 3% of military procurement funds.
On December 5, 2023 local time, in southern Israel, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict continues, and Israeli soldiers sit in armored vehicles near the Gaza border.
The Israeli army said it would expand its military operations in southern Gaza in the coming days, with the Christmas Eve attack causing heavy civilian casualties in Gaza
According to a CCTV News report on the 24th, the Israel Defense Forces said that the current strike is focused on Hamas's underground tunnels, and will further expand military operations in the southern Gaza Strip in the coming days. On the same day, Hamas said it had lost contact with armed men guarding several detainees, who were likely killed in Israeli attacks.
At the same time, the Israeli army stepped up air strikes on central Gaza on the evening of the 24th local time. The air raids began a few hours before midnight and lasted until Christmas on the 25th.
At least 70 Palestinians were killed in Israeli forces that night in an airstrike on the Maghazy refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, Xinhua news agency reported. The report said that the Maigazi refugee camp was a densely populated area, and most of the dead were women and children, and the number of casualties is likely to continue to rise. In addition to the Megazi refugee camp, the Israeli army also attacked the Buraij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip and the southern city of Khan Younis on the night of 24 July.
The Gaza Strip health department said in a statement earlier in the day that Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours had killed 166 people and injured 384. The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said the air strikes in the Magazi refugee camp were "a horrific massacre" and called it a "new war crime". The Israeli army spokesman's office said it was verifying reports of the attack.
Since the outbreak of the new Palestinian-Israeli conflict on October 7, Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip have killed at least 20,400 Palestinians and injured 54,000.
Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin will attend meetings of the Supreme Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission and informal meetings of the leaders of the CIS countries
According to CCTV News, the Kremlin announced on December 22 local time that Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the meeting of the Supreme Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission in St. Petersburg on the 25th, as well as the informal meeting of the leaders of the CIS countries from the 25th to the 26th.
According to the source, the meeting of the Supreme Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission will summarize the results of the work of this body during the Russian chairmanship, consider hot issues of the alliance's activities, discuss promising areas for deepening integration processes. The meeting plans to adopt a number of important decisions and documents, including the Declaration on the Further Development of the Eurasian Economic Union up to 2030 and 2045.
On the 18th local time, Putin told the participants at the meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS countries that he was looking forward to the meeting of the Supreme Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission and the informal meeting of the leaders of the CIS countries in St. Petersburg. "Please convey (our) most sincere greetings to the leaders of your country, and I look forward to the upcoming meeting with them," Putin said.