Speaker Johnson speaks of support for Ukraine and simultaneously creates obstacles to advance this issue - Kirby.

The White House calls on U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson to "be a leader" and to submit a bill to help Ukraine.

This was stated by White House Communications Advisor John Kirby in an interview with Voice of America, Censor.NET reports.

According to Kirby, the speaker is currently creating obstacles to voting on aid to Ukraine.

"Speaker Johnson himself said that he wants to support Ukraine, that he understands that it is in the interest of our national security, and that he is in favor of it. Now he's creating obstacles to moving this issue forward. He should comment on this. But if you believe (and he said he believes) that it is in our national security interest to support Ukraine, then you have to do the right thing. Be the leader that the Speaker of the House is supposed to be and bring this to a vote, approve it, and let's send this equipment to Ukraine, into the hands of Ukrainian soldiers, where it belongs," Kirby said.

Read more: Speaker Johnson is looking for excuse not to bring Ukraine aid bill to vote - White House

When asked whether the US Congress would adopt the aid after Easter when it returns to work after the holidays, Kirby did not predict, but emphasized that the time for this had long since come:

"I can't predict what the House of Representatives will do. It will be up to Speaker Johnson, and this is an opportunity for him to show leadership. We know that if he were to submit the bill for consideration, it would be voted on resolutely, and Ukrainian commanders on the battlefield would have the weapons and capabilities they need to better defend themselves, particularly in the east, in the Donbas, where Russian forces continue to try to advance west of Avdiivka. So it is high time that we were able to provide Ukraine with additional security assistance, and it is high time that we approved this request for additional funding. And so we urge Speaker Johnson to bring this to a vote and move forward," the White House official said.

Kirby also reminded that despite the delay in the vote in Congress, the Pentagon managed to find funds for a new package for Ukraine the day before.

"The Ministry of Defense managed to save money on certain arms procurement contracts under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative program. And we were able to use some of these savings to allocate this extraordinary package of assistance under the Presidential Assistance Program. This means that we took these weapons directly from the warehouses of the Ministry of Defense, because they also received money to replenish their own stocks."

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The White House adviser noted that such assistance is a one-time event, and the Administration hopes for a vote by Congress in the future.

"This was a one-time action, and I'm not aware of any other packages that are being developed. We will continue to do everything we can to try to find ways to support Ukraine, but there is no alternative, and the aid that is available doesn't even come close to the level of support that Ukraine needs. The only way we can give Ukraine what it really needs now that it's spring and soon summer, with the fighting soon to become more intense, is to approve the president's request for additional funding," said John Kirby.

The White House representative also reiterated that Ukraine's future lies in NATO, but that Kyiv has "a lot of work to do." Kirby reminded Ukraine of the need to fight corruption.

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"Regardless of how this military conflict ends, they (Ukrainians) will still have a long border with Russia to defend. And the Ukrainian people deserve to be safe against this potential threat. And the United States will also be with them bilaterally and multilaterally, and will do everything we can to make sure that Ukraine is able to continue to defend itself after the conflict. NATO is clearly in Ukraine's future, it's just a matter of getting there, and there's a lot of work to be done, particularly in anti-corruption efforts."