President Joe Biden announced an “unprecedented” activation of $800 million in new security assistance for Ukraine on Wednesday, bringing the total transfer of U.S. assistance to Ukraine to $1 billion in just the past week.
The funds were part of the $14 billion appropriated for Ukrainian aid in Congress’s government funding bill, which Biden signed into law on Tuesday.
Biden opened by calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Wednesday address to Congress “significant” and “compelling.” Zelensky had begged U.S. lawmakers in that speech to institute a no-fly zone over Ukraine, something the Biden administration has flat-out rejected, and he appealed to Biden directly.
“These are atrocities. They’re an outrage in the world,” Biden said, referencing Russian attacks against civilian targets. “The world is united in our support for Ukraine and our determination to make Putin pay a very heavy price. America is leading this effort, together with our allies and partners providing enormous levels of security and humanitarian assistance that we’re adding to today.
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“We’re going to give Ukraine the arms to fight and defend themselves through all the difficult days ahead,” he continued. “We’re going to continue to mobilize humanitarian relief to support people within Ukraine and those who have been forced to flee.”
The president said this tranche of aid includes shoulder-mounted missiles and anti-aircraft systems requested by Zelensky “to make sure the Ukrainian military can continue to stop the planes and helicopters that have been attacking the people and to defend Ukrainian airspace.” The United States will also send drones, small arms, and 20 million rounds of ammunition for use by the Ukrainian military.
Biden further claimed that the U.S. will help “acquire additional longer range and aircraft systems and the munitions for those systems.” The president declined to answer questions from reporters about whether the U.S. and NATO allies will meet Ukraine’s request for additional fighter jets.
“The United States and our allies and partners are fully committed to surging weapons of assistance to the Ukrainians. More will be coming as we source additional stocks of equipment that are — that we’re ready to transfer,” he said in closing. “Now, I want to be honest with you. This could be a long and difficult battle, but the American people will be steadfast in our support [for] the people of Ukraine in the face of Putin’s immoral, unethical attacks on civilian populations.”
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You can watch Biden’s remarks in full below.
