President Joe Biden presented at the White House on Wednesday a detailed list of the new $800 million tranche of lethal weapons the US is supplying to Ukraine as it continues to fight the Russian invasion.
Biden spoke hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded for more help.
He acknowledged Zelenskiy’s “important speech” which showed Ukraine’s “outstanding courage in the face of brutal aggression” before moving on to the contents of the package.
Faced with pressure from members of both parties to do more, Biden outlined Ukraine’s struggles. “It’s about freedom. It is about the right of people to determine their future. The point is to ensure that Ukraine never becomes a victory for Putin,” he said of the Russian president.
“We are going to give Ukraine weapons to fight and defend itself in the difficult days ahead,” Biden vowed as he faces pressure from Congress and Zelenskiy to give Ukraine the means to defend itself.
He also spoke in unusual detail about the latest aid package, which sees US military aid reach $1 billion this week alone.
It includes 800 anti-aircraft systems, 9,000 anti-tank systems, man-portable “precision” shoulder missiles and 7,000 small arms, as well as machine guns, shotguns and grenade launchers.
He said the package would include drones “demonstrating our commitment to sending our most advanced systems to Ukraine for its defense.” He did not specify if he was referring to the latest kamikaze killer drones the administration was considering.
Biden said the package included “additional longer-range anti-aircraft systems” that he said came at Zelenskiy’s request.
What Biden did not mention and did not want to talk about was the MiG fighter jets that Zelensky is asking for.
President Joe Biden laid out the details of the latest U.S. military aid package to Ukraine on Wednesday as the country struggles against the “lecherous onslaught” of Vladimir Putin.
– This is our goal. Make Putin pay the price, weaken his position, while strengthening the hand of Ukrainians on the battlefield and at the negotiating table. Together with our allies and partners, we will stay on this course. and we will insist on ending this tragic and unnecessary war,” Biden said.
The administration thwarted a plan to have Poland hand over US aircraft for handover.
While signing the handover document, Biden did not comment when asked about the planes.
A number of lawmakers, including Senator Mitt Romney (D-Utah) on Wednesday, urged him to provide the planes despite the administration’s fears that doing so could escalate the conflict.
“This could be a long and difficult battle,” Biden predicted as the invasion neared the end of its third week.
He denounced “Putin’s immoral and unethical attacks” and said the world was “unified in its disgust with Putin’s depraved onslaught.”
Biden also cited international efforts to put pressure on Russia’s “collapsing” economy while “isolating Putin” on the world stage. Zelenskiy also called for more action on that front, calling for sanctions not only on Putin, but also on his close friends in government.
Deadly weapons and equipment in Biden’s new $800 million package for Ukraine
800 anti-aircraft systems
9000 anti-tank systems
Portable high-precision missiles on the shoulder
7000 small arms, machine guns, shotguns
grenade launchers
Artillery, mortar shells
20 million rounds
“advanced” drones
– This is our goal. Make Putin pay the price, weaken his position, while strengthening the hand of Ukrainians on the battlefield and at the negotiating table. Together with our allies and partners, we will stay on this course. and we are going to press for an end to this tragic and unnecessary war,” Biden said, accompanied by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley.
Biden spoke at the White House shortly after Zelenskiy delivered his first virtual address to Congress.
“I need to protect our sky. I need your help, which means the same thing you feel when you hear that I’m dreaming,” he said.
“We need you right now,” Zelenskiy said, adding: “I urge you to do more.”
On Monday, Biden signed a $13.6 billion package of laws that provides for military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Biden provided details on the deadly military equipment the US provided in the wake of previous aid packages. He was joined by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (left), Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley.
Biden did not comment on the screaming issue of providing Ukraine with the fighter jets it is looking for.
His speech followed reports that the administration is considering supplying US-made Switchblade kamikaze drones to Ukraine.
Small, light and relatively cheap, the “kamikaze” weapon, which is actually a remote-controlled bomb, comes in two versions designed to destroy tanks or artillery positions.
These are believed to be the same missiles that killed Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani during the Donald Trump administration in 2020.
U.S. military officials say the Ukrainians have been very effective in using the weapons to destroy Russian tanks, trucks and other armored vehicles.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a heartfelt appeal to President Joe Biden and America to “become a world leader” and help his country from Russian attacks in a speech in which he addressed the hearts of the United States, comparing the crisis to the 9/11 tragedies. and Pearl Harbor and called out to Martin Luther King Jr. saying “I have a dream … I have a need”
Zelenskiy showed Congress a video montage of destruction and death in Ukraine (pictured) and said his country faces terrorist attacks like the 9/11 attacks every day.
Biden’s speech followed reports that the administration is considering supplying U.S.-made Switchblade kamikaze drones to Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin said today that “the West’s attempt at global domination” is coming to an end as he warned that the West is trying to “cancel Russia” with an “economic blitzkrieg” of sanctions.
Drones can be used to destroy tanks and artillery positions, but only once.
There have been reports of a rise in Russian military deaths as staggering Ukrainian civilian casualties also mount.
The new aid package Biden just signed includes $6.5 billion to fund the deployment of Pentagon troops so the country can bolster its presence in the region, plus $4 billion in humanitarian aid.
Even though the aid package had been in the works for several days, Biden tweaked his remarks in the wake of Zelensky.
Zelensky ended his speech with a personal appeal to Biden.
“I’m talking to President Biden. You are the leader of the nation, your great nation. I wish you become a world leader. To be the leader of the world is to be the leader of the world,” he said.
The two leaders spoke on a day when Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out in fury at traitor scumbags and a fifth column after Western officials openly hoped he might face an internal split.
“I do not judge those who have villas in Miami or the French Riviera. Or who can’t do without oysters, foie gras, or so-called “gender freedoms,” Putin said in a televised address. “The problem is that they mentally exist there, and not here, with our people, with Russia,” he said.
“The West will try to bet on the so-called fifth column, on traitors… to divide our society… to provoke civil strife… to achieve its goal. And the goal is the same – the destruction of Russia, ”he said.