President Biden will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine at the White House on Thursday after announcing a new slate of military weapons and nearly $8 billion of aid for the country’s fight against Russia.
Mr. Biden made the announcement as Mr. Zelensky traveled to Washington as a part of an effort to urge the administration and Congress to continue bolstering Ukraine’s effort to fend off Russia’s invasion, now in its third year. Mr. Biden also said he would provide Ukraine with glide bombs used by F-16 fighter jets, known as joint standoff weapons, as well as an additional Patriot battery and air defense missiles.
“For nearly three years, the United States has rallied the world to stand with the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom from Russian aggression, and it has been a top priority of my administration to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to prevail,” Mr. Biden said in a statement as he commended the country’s efforts to defend its capital, Kyiv. “But there is more work to do. That is why, today, I am announcing a surge in security assistance for Ukraine and a series of additional actions to help Ukraine win this war.”
Mr. Zelensky has used his visit to the United States this week — including an address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday — to urge the administration to equip his nation with additional arms and authorize his military to strike deeper into Russia with Western missiles. The Biden administration has been considering such a move, but Mr. Biden has not yet given the green light.
Mr. Zelensky is also expected to present Mr. Biden on Thursday with a new, undisclosed “victory plan,” which he has indicated will include requests to enhance Western security guarantees for Ukraine, increase military aid and secure further financial support.
In addition to meeting with Mr. Biden, Mr. Zelensky will talk separately with Vice President Kamala Harris.
With the latest security package, Mr. Biden is hoping to assure Mr. Zelensky that he has his administration’s support for the months to come — even after a consequential presidential election.
Roughly $5.5 billion in aid funding that Mr. Biden announced is not new, but was set to expire at the end of the month after Congress did not authorize the Pentagon to extend its spending authority of the aid. That money will go to so-called presidential drawdown authority shipments that send weapons and matériel from the Pentagon’s existing stockpile. By announcing the aid package now, Mr. Biden can continue to stretch out the billions of dollars in funding for Kyiv, even after a potential shift in support for Ukraine if former President Donald J. Trump wins the presidential election in November.
Mr. Biden also said the Defense Department would issue $2.4 billion in aid through a separate program — the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides money for Kyiv to buy goods directly from military firms — for munitions and drones. He also directed his administration to train more than two dozen Ukrainian F-16 pilots and disrupt Russia’s cryptocurrency network.
“The United States will continue to raise the costs on Russia for its war in Ukraine,” Mr. Biden said. “And to deprive the Russian defense industrial base of resources.”
The post Biden to Meet Zelensky After Pledging More Weapons and Aid to Ukraine appeared first on New York Times.
