This statement symbolized the turbulent emotions and dramatic agenda that caused by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s persuasive speech to Congress, not Biden’s own elaborate plans and message.
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Biden watched Zelensky’s 9 a.m. speech from the private library of his White House residence, absorbing an emotional plea that mentioned both Pearl Harbor and 9/11 — two deadly attacks on the United States from the sky — and pleaded with the president to close the skies over Ukraine. .
“Our country has been experiencing the same thing every day, right now, at this moment, every night for three weeks,” Zelensky said, addressing MPs via video link with the help of an interpreter.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a virtual speech to Congress on March 16. (Ellie Karen/The Washington Post)
Almost exactly four hours later, Biden responded with his own remarks, praising Zelenskiy’s “passionate” and “significant” speech, talking about his administration’s aid to Ukraine and announcing significant new aid. But he also made it clear that the core of Zelenskiy’s appeal — the no-fly zone over Ukraine — still doesn’t matter to the United States.
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Biden’s comments, which began more than an hour after originally scheduled and lasted half Zelensky’s request – eight minutes to Zelensky’s 16 – highlighted the fluid dynamic between the two leaders as Biden (in a subdued suit, 79) revealed himself, for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine, clearly in response to Zelensky (dressed in military green, determined, 44 years old).
“The American people are responding to President Zelensky’s call for more help, more weapons to defend Ukraine, more tools to fight Russian aggression,” Biden said.
His comments at times took on an almost defensive tone as he noted that the United States had been arming Ukraine before the invasion, that American weapons had helped the Ukrainians inflict significant damage, and that the new $800 million aid he announced would include “advanced systems” such as drones.
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Since the initial Russian build-up on the border with Ukraine last fall, Biden and his team have taken the lead in trying to prevent Russian aggression against their neighbor. The administration has worked with NATO and other Western allies to contain Putin through diplomatic channels and the threat of sanctions. And Biden himself signed a new strategy to declassify intelligence, sharing it with the world in an attempt to prevent Putin from using a false pretext to invade Ukraine.
The White House even created a secret “Tiger Team” to plan how to deal with the Russian invasion.
Indeed, if Russia’s militancy provided any middle ground, it was that Putin helped Biden return to his most comfortable position by acting as the transatlantic leader and declaring—literally and symbolically—that America was back after four years of chaos. and the destruction of alliances under Donald Trump.
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But since the real war between Russia and Ukraine broke out three weeks ago, Biden and his European counterparts have not articulated a clear end goal, and Wednesday’s Biden-Zelensky juxtaposition offered something of a split screen as the US president and his team tried to to explain why the administration was unable to accommodate Zelenskiy’s troubling request.
The Ukrainian leader ended his speech by switching to English and directly calling out to Biden: “You are the leader of the nation, your great nation,” Zelensky said. “I wish you to be the leader of the world. To be the leader of the world is to be the leader of the world.”
In response, Biden detailed what he had already done to support Ukraine and announced that he would authorize an additional $800 million in security assistance, noting that this brought the total to $1 billion “this week alone” and to $2 billion. billion dollars. from the beginning of his reign.
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“This new package in itself will provide unprecedented assistance to Ukraine,” Biden said. “It includes 800 anti-aircraft systems so that the Ukrainian military can continue to stop planes and helicopters that attacked their people and protect Ukrainian airspace. And at the request of President Zelensky, we have identified and are helping Ukraine acquire additional longer-range anti-aircraft systems and ammunition for these systems.”
The White House said the $800 million in new aid includes 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems; 2,000 Javelins, 1,000 light anti-tank guns and 6,000 AT-4 anti-tank systems; 100 tactical unmanned aerial vehicles; 100 grenade launchers, 5000 rifles, 1000 pistols, 400 machine guns and 400 rifles; more than 20 million cartridges for small arms, grenade and mortar rounds; 25,000 sets of body armor; and 25,000 helmets.
On March 16, President Biden announced an additional $800 million in aid to Ukraine following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech to Congress. (Washington Post)
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki came under repeated pressure over why the administration was willing to provide lethal aid to Ukraine, such as Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, while repeatedly denying Zelensky’s requests. on the Polish MiG fighter. jets.
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The administration has sought to draw a clear line between defensive and offensive weapons, arguing that the latter could provoke a direct confrontation with Russia that could escalate into a major war.
“I note that the equipment that we provided is defensive in nature, as you know, and not offensive,” Psaki said. “And we see the difference in that.”
And again, a few minutes later, Psaki suggested: “Javelins and Stingers are defensive weapons. MiGs or aircraft are offensive weapons that are a different type of military system.”
But Poland has offered to provide the United States with fighter jets for use in Ukraine, an idea that has some bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. Immediately after Zelensky’s speech, several Republican lawmakers issued calls for the Biden administration to send Zelensky the MiGs he wants.
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“Zelensky has the courage of his convictions. The question he asked the Congress and the government of the United States is whether we have the courage,” said Senator Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska). “We are a superpower – we must act accordingly.”
When asked about the no-fly zone, Sasse added: “We should have received these aircraft a long time ago.”
Referring to a video Zelensky showed to Congress that showed footage of his country being destroyed, Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) made a similar assessment.
“I don’t know how anyone could listen to him and watch the video and not support sending MiGs, sending drones, sending additional weapons, stopping doing business in Russia and implementing his call for broader sanctions,” Collins said.
As for Biden’s surprise comment that Putin is a war criminal, Psaki presented it as a sincere remark. “The president’s remarks speak for themselves,” she said. “He spoke from the bottom of his heart and talked about what we saw on television, which is the barbaric actions of a brutal dictator during his invasion of a foreign country.”
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On Wednesday, she reiterated that the State Department was conducting a legal review to determine whether the actions in Ukraine constituted war crimes. “If Russia deliberately targets civilians, it would be a war crime,” she said last week, revealing the results of the investigation. “But we need to go through legal review and review to make a formal decision.”
Vice President Harris supported the war crimes investigation last week, speaking during a visit to Poland, saying, “There should absolutely be an investigation and we should all be watching.” And in The Hague, the prosecutor’s office of the International Criminal Court recently announced that it was studying the situation in Ukraine.
But neither an international court nor the US government has formally concluded that Russia’s actions amounted to war crimes, which makes Biden’s seemingly spontaneous announcement on Wednesday all the more startling.
Psaki emphasized that the administration is in constant contact with the Ukrainians, saying that while Biden is not ready to comply with all of Zelensky’s demands, none of what the Ukrainian leader asked for came as a surprise.
“If we were President Zelensky, we would also ask for everything possible, and we continue to ask,” Psaki said. “Because he is watching his country and his people being attacked and mistreated by President Putin and the Russian military,” Psaki said.