With the escalating conflict in Israel and Gaza captivating people around the world, people in Kyiv are beginning to worry. Will aid to Ukraine wither outside the spotlight?
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been increasingly vocal in his support for Israel in recent days, but he has also been open about his fears for his own people who face rocket attacks of their own.
“I want to be honest with you, of course it is a dangerous situation for people in Ukraine,” the Ukrainian president was quoted by The Guardian as saying, as he visited NATO’s headquarters last week.
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The ongoing cost of living crisis being felt in European voters’ homes, as well as the slow pace of the vaunted Ukrainian counteroffensive, has led to fatigue among some Western leaders when it comes to aid for Ukraine.
And in America, President Joe Biden faces increasingly vocal opposition from Republicans when it comes to further financial packages for Kyiv.
All of that was true before the attack by Hamas and retaliation by Israel, which have caught the attention of people from around the world.
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Destruction in Gaza town after airstrikes
US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen addressed the issue, saying that America can “certainly” afford to support wars on two fronts.
Speaking exclusively to Sky News, Ms Yellen said it remained too early to understand the economic ramifications of the latest conflict, with oil and natural gas prices remaining volatile amid growing concerns of a wider war in the Middle East.
“We do need to come up with funds, both for Israel and for Ukraine. This is a priority,” she added.
German defence minister Boris Pistorius said last week that the US’s decision to step up aid to Israel would not come at the expense of Ukraine.
He said Berlin would do “everything we can to ensure support for Ukraine does not crumble” in light of the recent escalation in the Middle East conflict.
Military analyst Sean Bell believes the crisis in Israel and Gaza will certainly have an impact on Ukraine, however.
He told Sky News: “Primarily because what Zelenskyy has been so good about is keeping Ukraine at the top of the media agenda and every time he visits international leaders they seem duty bound to announce some form of additional aid for the cause.
“It keeps the flow of aid and the empathy with Ukraine,” he added.
“With the Israel conflict, Zelenskyy is being starved of the oxygen of media which inevitably will have an impact, an adverse impact, on the flow of aid.”
