Biden announces $8 billion in military aid for Ukraine

US President Joe Biden announced more than $8 billion in military aid to Ukraine on Thursday to help kyiv “win this war” against Russian invaders, taking advantage of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to commit to this.

The aid includes the first shipment of a precision-guided gliding bomb called the “Joint Standoff Weapon”, with a range of up to 130 kilometers. The medium-range missile provides Ukraine with a major upgrade to the weapons it is using to hit the Russian military, allowing the Ukrainians to do so at safer distances.

The bomb, capable of hitting targets with great precision, will be dropped from fighter jets. Biden will not announce that Washington would allow Ukraine to use US missiles to attack targets deeper in Russia, a US official said.

Supporting Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February 2022, has been a top US priority, Biden said in a statement.

“That is why, today, I am announcing an increase in security assistance to Ukraine and a series of additional measures to help Ukraine win this war,” said Biden, who leaves office in January.

The bulk of the new aid, $5.5 billion, will be allocated before the end of the U.S. fiscal year on Monday, when funding authority expires. Another $2.4 billion comes from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which allows the government to buy weapons for Ukraine from companies instead of removing them from U.S. arsenals.

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 needs, Biden said.

Under its plan, the Defense Department will overhaul and provide Ukraine with an additional Patriot air defense battery and more Patriot missiles.

Biden directed the Pentagon to expand training of Ukrainian F-16 pilots, including supporting the training of 18 additional pilots next year.

Republican criticism of Zelensky

To combat Russian sanctions evasion and money laundering, the United States will act to disrupt what Biden called “a global cryptocurrency network, in coordination with international partners.”

Biden said he will convene a leader-level meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany next month to coordinate the efforts of more than 50 countries that support Ukraine.

Before meeting with Biden at noon (1600 GMT), Zelensky plans to meet with Democratic and Republican leaders at the Capitol.

Ukraine’s defense has received broad bipartisan support in the United States, but it was unclear how many Republicans would make time to sit down with Zelensky amid growing criticism of his government from party leaders, including Donald Trump, the presidential candidate. Republican presidential.

Trump has been criticizing the Ukrainian president as he campaigns for the Nov. 5 election and, at least for now, rejected a request from Zelensky to meet.

The former president sharply criticized Zelensky on Wednesday, telling a campaign rally in North Carolina: “We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refused to make a deal, Zelensky.”

Trump also blamed Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic presidential opponent, for allowing the Russian invasion.

Many Republican members of Congress have been furious about Zelensky’s visit on Sunday to a munitions factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where Biden grew up. The Republican-led House Oversight Committee opened an investigation into Zelensky’s trip.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is not scheduled to meet with Zelensky on Thursday, demanded that he fire his ambassador in Washington for planning the trip to Scranton, although he told reporters that this demand was not a threat of oppose military aid.

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