Sullivan: ‘Arithmetic is simple’ on aid for Ukraine, ‘security of Europe is at stake’

National security adviser Jake Sullivan made clear the high stakes of aid for Ukraine on Monday, saying the fate of a negotiation over billions in funding for the country could put all of Europe at risk.

“I do not think it’s hyperbole to say that basically the security of Europe is at stake, and therefore the risk of American men and women having to go deal with another massive war in Europe, as we have before, if we don’t work with Ukraine to stop Russia in Ukraine. That’s at stake,” Sullivan said at a Washington event hosted by The New Republic on Monday.

“Look, the arithmetic here is simple,” he continued. “We have now, as of the end of December, used up all of the funding that Congress has given us to supply weapons to Ukraine, and then to replenish our stocks with the weapons that we’ve handed over.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Washington this week to meet with top lawmakers and plead the case for Ukraine aid. He was to meet with senators, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and President Biden on Tuesday.

Sullivan said the U.S. can no longer provide Ukraine with weapons, vehicles, aircraft and ammunition if funding is not passed as soon as possible.

“And as weeks go by, that will have a material effect on Ukraine’s battlefield position,” he said.

Ukraine’s late summer counteroffensive stalled after little progress this fall, and a Russian offensive also made little progress as the war has devolved into a stalemate as winter sets in. 

Sullivan added that aid for Ukraine is bigger than just backing an ally against Russia, but also speaks to core American values.

“I believe the American people still want to see the United States standing for the basic proposition that a free people deserves to be free, and we should help them be able to achieve that,” he said. “And if we don’t, I really think it undermines the very idea of who we are as a country. And there isn’t really a greater stake than that.”