Smoke rises above the area of the frontline town of Avdiivka, Ukraine on October 18, 2023. Photo: AFP

The tone of the Biden administration on aid to Ukraine has seen subtle changes from being a commitment for "as long as it takes" to "as long as we can" during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's latest visit in Washington, where he is making a last-ditch plea to US lawmakers as an aid package with billions in funds for the country stalls amid partisan disagreements over immigration policies.

Such a change in tone could signal a possible decrease of US aid to Ukraine against the backdrop of increasing GOP skepticism in Congress, observers said on Wednesday. 

Standing alongside the Ukrainian leader at a White House press conference on Tuesday local time, US President Joe Biden announced that "We'll continue to supply Ukraine with critical weapons and equipment as long as we can," NBC News reported. 

Biden's administration has long committed to supporting Ukraine for "as long as it takes," but funding appropriated by lawmakers is set to run out by year's end, according to media reports.

Biden's latest remarks have left room for the possibility of the US reducing aid to Ukraine, Cui Heng, a scholar from the China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

With the end of the year approaching and Congress about to go on recess, it is very difficult for Biden to garner congressional support to continue aiding Ukraine due to the severe partisan disagreement. Therefore, Biden's remarks actually gave himself an out, so if he fails to secure aid for Ukraine, he can claim that he did his best, Cui explained. 

On December 4, the White House warned Congress that the administration will run out of resources to provide aid to Ukraine unless Congress takes action by the end of the year. In a letter to congressional leaders, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young stressed the US is "out of money - and nearly out of time" to provide weapons and equipment to Ukraine, NBC News reported.

Young's letter comes as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are deadlocked over approving US aid to Israel and Ukraine. Republicans seek to condition foreign aid on the enactment of tougher US policy surrounding migrants arriving at the southern US border.

However, House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed back at Young's letter Monday morning on X, saying Republicans will not budge on their calls to condition aid to Ukraine on changes in US border enforcement and asylum laws.

"The Biden administration has failed to substantively address any of my conference's legitimate concerns about the lack of a clear strategy in Ukraine, a path to resolving the conflict, or a plan for adequately ensuring accountability for aid provided by American taxpayers," he wrote.

Zelensky on Tuesday spoke with lawmakers in a closed-door gathering on Capitol Hill, where there is growing GOP skepticism about providing more financial and military support for Ukraine, according to media report. 

"I don't think it changed the nature of the conversation here in Washington," said Senator JD Vance, a GOP lawmaker who has argued that it's in America's best interest for Ukraine to cede some of its land to end the war.

The EU has also showed fatigue over supply to Kiev, marked by the latest event where Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has threatened to block moves to give Kiev 50 billion euros in budget support through 2027 and the green light for membership talks - a key strategic objective for Ukraine, Reuters reported.

The increasing domestic skepticism within the US over the supply to Kiev has made more people in the international community realize that the US is the instigator who creates chaos at the cost of interests of Ukraine and the Europe. More in the Europe are adjusting their approach and policies toward such chaos created by the US in the first place, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.