Biden announces $500 million in new military aid during trip to Kyiv
Mike Brest
Video Embed
President Joe Biden announced the United States’s latest military aid package to Ukraine during a surprise trip to Kyiv ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
The new aid, which Biden announced on Monday during his visit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, is valued at $500 million, though the U.S. president did not provide many details on what would be included in it. This aid package brings the total amount of military aid the U.S. has provided to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion to nearly $30 billion.
The president added that further sanctions against Russia will be announced later this week.
WHITE HOUSE SAYS NO INDICATION THREE OBJECTS SHOT DOWN WERE CHINESE SURVEILLANCE
Biden said the aid package will also include more military equipment, including artillery ammunition, more javelins, and howitzers. He did not appear to reference any military equipment that has not already been provided to Ukraine during the war. Biden said more details would be released in the coming days.
The president, in comments to reporters alongside Zelensky, reiterated his steadfast support for Ukraine.
“You said that you didn’t know when we’d be able to speak again. That dark night one year ago, the world was literally at the time bracing for the fall of Kyiv,” Biden said. “Perhaps even the end of Ukraine … One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. The Americans stand with you and the world stands with you.”
Zelensky said he and Biden spoke about “long-range weapons and the weapons that may still be supplied to Ukraine even though it wasn’t supplied before,” which is one of their biggest requests that the U.S. has, thus far, been unwilling to meet.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
While the president continues to support Ukraine’s efforts to fend off Russian aggression, he has chosen not to provide certain weapons out of concern for possible Russian escalation. The long-range missiles and fighter jets remain the Ukrainians’ top requests that Biden has not provided, though the president has at multiple points during the war changed his mind and provided Ukraine with weapon systems he had previously declined to offer up.
On Capitol Hill, a majority of lawmakers continue to support aiding Ukraine as the war enters its second year, but there is now a more vocal minority, specifically in conservative GOP circles, advocating the U.S. to end its support for Ukraine.