Biden announces over $10 billion in military aid to help Ukraine ‘win this war’ against Russia
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Republicans are investigating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to a munitions plant in Pennsylvania, the US, on Sept 22.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden announced more than US$8 billion (S$10 billion) in military assistance for Ukraine on Sept 26 to help Kyiv “win this war” against Russian invaders, using a visit by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to make a major commitment.
The aid includes the first shipment of a precision-guided glide bomb called the Joint Standoff Weapon, which has a range of up to 130km.
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 dropped from fighter jets.
Mr Biden will not announce that Washington will let Ukraine use American missiles to hit targets deeper in Russia, a US official said.
Supporting Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February 2022
“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,” said Mr Biden, who leaves office in January.
The bulk of the new aid – US$5.5 billion – is to be allocated before the end of the US fiscal year on Sept 30, when the funding authority is set to expire.
Another US$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 US stocks.
This will provide Ukraine with additional air defence, unmanned aerial systems and air-to-ground munitions, as well as strengthen Ukraine’s defence industrial base and support its maintenance and sustainment requirements, Mr Biden said.
He said the US Defence Department will refurbish and provide Ukraine with an additional Patriot air defence battery and more Patriot missiles.
Mr Biden ordered the Pentagon to expand training for Ukrainian F-16 pilots, including by supporting the training of an additional 18 pilots in 2025.
Republicans chide Zelensky
To combat Russian sanctions evasion and money laundering, the US will act to disrupt what Mr Biden called “a global cryptocurrency network, in coordination with international partners”.
Mr Biden said he will convene a leader-level meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Germany in October to coordinate efforts of more than 50 countries supporting Ukraine.
Ukraine’s defence has largely received bipartisan support in the US, but it was not clear how many Republicans would make time to sit down with Mr Zelensky amid rising criticism of his government from party leaders, including Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Trump has been criticising the Ukrainian President
The former US president was sharply critical of Mr Zelensky on Sept 25, 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 Mr Biden and US Vice-President Kamala Harris, his Democratic presidential opponent, for allowing Russia’s invasion.
Many congressional Republicans have been furious about Mr Zelensky’s visit on Sept 22 to a munitions factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where Mr Biden grew up.
The Republican-led House of Representatives Oversight Committee opened an investigation into Mr Zelensky’s trip.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican who was not expected to meet Mr Zelensky on Sept 26, demanded that he fire his ambassador to Washington
