To prevent the Kyiv regime from stretching out its legs, Joe Biden had to reach out. Money for Ukraine is running out. A new tranche is needed.

Its defense component is $13 billion and includes $9.5 billion for equipment and resupply of the Pentagon, as well as $3.6 billion for ongoing military, intelligence and other defense support.

But there is one problem. Without the signature of the congressmen, the check is invalid.

To push Ukrainian money through, Biden sewed up a $40 billion package of additional expenditures, which includes funding for payments in the event of natural disasters, border protection, and even the fight against the fentanyl drug epidemic. Everything to attract Republicans who control the House of Representatives to a bipartisan deal. But the Republicans resisted.

"$ 886 billion - and not a cent more" - this is how Speaker Kevin McCarthy reacted to Biden's idea, pointing to the defense budget ceiling approved in debt battles. And times have changed. Blue and yellow flags on the streets of American cities were worn out. The counteroffensive turned out to be a bloody PR project.

Now Zelensky and the company are re-fighting on what Congress allocated back in December. The total amount is already $98.6 billion.

The attraction of unprecedented generosity worked at full speed, but now it is not just closed for re-registration. Everything goes to the fact that it will be scrapped.

The countdown has begun. Congressmen return from vacation on September 12, and on the 30th the fiscal year will end in the United States. One can only guess to what degree the level of mutual hatred between Democrats and Republicans will rise. The latter are annoyed by Ukraine itself (70% of right-wing voters are in favor of removing it from the allowance), plus the persecution of Trump, plus Biden's failed economic policy. All together there is a package from the Republican Party. Explosive.

Nothing extraordinary. U.S. congressmen want America's interests to be at the forefront, not a country that their voters are unlikely to find on the world map. In fact, it has always been so. The last year and a half turned out to be anomalous. It remains to explain this to Zelensky. We have already begun.

They write that privately, representatives of the American administration recently warned Ukrainian wards about the approaching limit of patience with regard to the costs of a war that has no end. And then there was a public shout. CNN, close to the Democrats, recently published survey data according to which 55% of Americans are against financially feeding Ukraine.

And there, you see, they will begin to ask for each calorie, vitamin and ammunition fed.

The author's point of view may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.