President Joe Biden on Wednesday detailed how the United States will spend the $800 million in military and humanitarian aid approved this week, promising to “do more in the coming days and weeks” as that country battles Russian invaders.
The money will go to drones, 800 anti-aircraft systems, 9,000 anti-armor systems, 7,000 small machine guns, as well as grenade launchers and rifles.
New aid from the United States aims to help care for more than 3 million war-displaced Ukrainians and bolster the country’s defenses as Russian forces try to encircle the capital, Kyiv.
“This new package on its own will provide unprecedented assistance to Ukraine,” Biden said at the White House, hours later. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to the US Congress For further assistance in resisting the invasion.
“God save the Ukrainians who are there to defend their country.”
US President Joe Biden, speaks as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, left, listens at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, US, Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Biden condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for inflicting “horrific havoc” on Ukraine, and pointed to reports that Russian military forces had held hundreds of doctors and patients hostage in a hospital in Mariupol.
“These atrocities are an outrage to the world,” the president said.
“This could be a long and difficult battle, as the American people will be steadfast in our support for the people of Ukraine, in the face of Putin’s immoral and immoral attacks on the civilian population,” Biden said. “We are united in our disgust at Putin’s corrupt attack,” he added.
Biden on Tuesday Signed a $1.5 trillion government spending package It included money for humanitarian and military aid to the nation that had spent nearly three weeks fighting the Russian invasion.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the $800 million allocated to Ukraine brings in more than the $2 billion in U.S. security assistance that has been committed to the country since the Biden administration began in January 2021.
Biden helped lead international efforts to disrupt the Russian economy in response to the attack on Ukraine. He said he was against sending offensive troops or weapons to Ukraine because it would risk turning the war there into a global one.
During his remarks Wednesday, Biden praised Zelensky, saying, “He speaks on behalf of a people who have demonstrated remarkable courage and strength in the face of brutal aggression, courage and strength that have inspired not only Ukrainians but the entire world.”
In a hypothetical address to Congress from Kyiv, Zelensky asked the United States to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine, punish Russian politicians and shut down business operations in Russia.
However, the United States and its NATO allies have resisted calls for a no-fly zone because it could push them into direct conflict with Russian forces.
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