Biden announces $8 billion in military aid for Ukraine
U.S. President Joe Biden announced more than $8 billion in military assistance for Ukraine on Thursday to help Kyiv repel Russian invaders, using a visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to make a major commitment.
The aid includes the first shipment of a precision-guided glide bomb called the Joint Standoff Weapon, with a range of up to 81 miles (130 km). The medium-range missile gives Ukraine a major upgrade to the weapons it is using to strike Russian forces, allowing the Ukrainians to do it at safer distances.
The bomb, capable of striking targets with high accuracy, is to be dropped from fighter jets. Biden will not announce that Washington would let Ukraine use U.S. missiles to hit targets deeper in Russia, a U.S. official said.
“We’re making clear that we stand with Ukraine now and in the future,” Biden told reporters ahead of a bilateral meeting with Zelenskiy in the Oval Office. He said the U.S. would continue to help Ukraine strengthen its position on the battlefield, and that he had directed the Pentagon to allocate all remaining security funding by the end of his term in January.
Zelenskiy thanked Biden for his support and said it was important to secure Ukraine’s future in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Zelenskiy has long sought NATO membership, but the allies have stopped short of taking that step.
The bulk of the new aid, $5.5 billion, is to be allocated before Monday’s end of the U.S. fiscal year, when the funding authority is set to expire. Another $2.4 billion is under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which allows the administration to buy weapons for Ukraine from companies rather than pull them from U.S. stocks.
This will provide Ukraine with additional air defense, unmanned aerial systems and air-to-ground munitions, as well as strengthen Ukraine’s defense industrial base and support its maintenance and sustainment requirements, Biden said.
Under his plan, the president said, the Defense Department will refurbish and provide Ukraine with an additional Patriot air defense battery and more Patriot missiles.
Biden ordered the Pentagon to expand training for Ukrainian F-16 pilots, including by supporting the training of an additional 18 pilots next year.
Zelenskiy thanked Biden and the U.S. Congress for the new military aid package, saying Ukraine would use it “in the most efficient and transparent manner”.
“I am grateful to the United States for providing the items that are most critical to protecting our people,” Zelenskiy said on X, mentioning the Patriot battery, drones and long-range missiles.
Source: reuters.com
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