Russia Ukraine war live: Biden says history will judge US as funds for Kyiv to fight Putin’s forces collapse

US President Joe Biden has said “history will judge” the US if they do not pass further aid to Ukraine.

Mr Biden issued a plea on X to Republicans who voted down a proposed package of further aid on Wednesday night.

You can view his plea below.

He said: “I believe the US will come through with supplemental funding for Ukraine.

“I’m sure that goodwill will prevail and the money will be voted through.”

He said he was glad to see the so-called special relationship was “stronger than ever” and that it was all the more important in the “dangerous and insecure and unstable world in which we currently live”.

At a press conference alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, he said: “There is no more important relationship for Britain than this partnership with the United States.”

Lord Cameron said Europe and the US were “rightly” sharing the financial burden of supporting Ukraine.

Mr Blinken earlier said: “Our countries are in lockstep when it comes to continuing to do everything possible to ensure that Putin’s aggression remains a strategic defeat and failure for Russia.”

Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron said there is “no more important” relationship for Britain than its partnership with the US.

He said: “The UK’s leadership has been absolutely essential. The UK has committed the second most after the United States in terms of military assistance and across the board.

“This is a global coalition in support of Ukraine. “

“I think we have to play hardball there and make a hard deal that requires any reneging on that deal to have major consequences. The clear principles are this war doesn’t advance US interests,” he said while suggesting that US priority should be on border control.

The Fox News host suggested a “world war could enfold” if eastern Europe were “given up”.

He opened his address with a nod to the UK and US’s “special relationship” which he said “has never been more important than it is now.”

He added: “Our countries are in lockstep when it comes to continuing to do everything possible to ensure that Putin’s aggression remains a strategic defeat and failure for Russia and we are determined to ensure that Ukraine stands strongly on its own feet as a sovereign independent country.”

Secretary Blinken added that there remained “unwavering support” for Ukraine across the Nato alliance.

Blocking a package of support for Ukraine would be a “Christmas present” for Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, Lord David Cameron has warned after Senate Republicans opposed a multi-billion-dollar aid bill.

The Foreign Secretary urged allies to rally around Kyiv, describing the response to the conflict as “the great test for our generation” as he delivered a speech at the Aspen security conference in Washington DC on Thursday.

The US Congress failed to pass a 110 billion dollar (£88 billion) package of wartime funding for Ukraine and Israel as well as other national security priorities.

The White House has sounded the alarm about what might happen if further funding is not approved soon, suggesting Ukraine‘s military would be stalled or overrun.

The Anti-Corruption Foundation founded by imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny paid for billboards in Moscow, St Petersburg and other Russian cities which said “Russia” and “Happy New Year.” But a website address and QR code printed on the signs led to a site titled “Russia without Putin.”

There, voters were encouraged to oppose the longtime Russian leader on March 17, the day that Russian lawmakers have set for the presidential election. The website says the election is important for Putin as a referendum on whether Russians approve of his war in Ukraine, rather than a real contest for the presidency.

Ivan Zhdanov, the Anti-Corruption Foundation’s director, told The Associated Press the billboards had been up for two days and it seems unlikely the agency that put them up checked the contents of the website ahead of time. Journalists for the Associated Press saw several of them were swiftly removed Thursday.

Zhdanov acknowledged the campaign was unlikely to kick Putin out of office — “Nothing will change on election day,” he said.

“Ninety-nine percent of opposition figures who opposed Putin are now either in prison or abroad,” Zhdanov said.

Navalny, 47, who is Putin’s biggest political opponent, is currently serving a term of more than 30 years for convictions on extremism and other charges that his supporters characterize as politically motivated.

Vladimir Putin has hosted Iran’s president as part of a round of Middle East diplomacy that also included visits to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in efforts to raise Moscow’s profile as a power broker in the region.

The Russian president has cast the Israel-Hamas war as a failure of US diplomacy and suggested Moscow could be a mediator, thanks to its friendly ties with both Israel and the Palestinians.

“It’s very important for us to exchange views of the situation in the region, particularly regarding the Palestinian situation,” Mr Putin said as he welcomed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at the start of their talks in Moscow.

Mr Raisi emphasised the need to quickly stop the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, declaring that “a child is killed there every 10 minutes”.

Senate Republicans blocked legislation on Wednesday that would have provided billions of dollars in security assistance for Ukraine over disputes around border policy.

“I’m not worried about the strength and unity and consensus and bravery of the Ukrainian people. I’m worried that we’re not going to do what we need to do,” Cameron said.

“We’ve got to make sure we give them the weapons, the economic support, the moral support the diplomatic support, but crucially, that military support that can make a difference.”

Addressing concerns among some in the US that Europe was not doing enough, Cameron said Europe was now doing twice as much as the United States in terms of economic and military support.