Left to right: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Biden, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and Chief of Staff Mark Milley.
(Photo: AP)
new York US President Joe Biden ordered further aid for Ukraine in Washington on Wednesday. In addition to the deliveries worth $200 million agreed on Saturday, a further $800 million are now to be added. Biden emphasized that the US made additional funds worth a billion dollars available “within just one week”.
The package includes Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and Javelin anti-tank guided missiles. In addition, 100 tactical unmanned aerial vehicles, i.e. drones, 100 grenade launchers, 5000 rifles, 1000 pistols, 400 submachine guns and more than 20 million rounds of ammunition are to be delivered. Biden said the US would support Ukraine for as long as it takes.
With the help of the new anti-aircraft missiles, the Ukrainians could continue to “stop Russia’s planes and helicopters” and defend Ukrainian airspace.
Overall, the Americans have supported Ukraine with the new deliveries since last year with two billion dollars. “And we’re not alone in that. Our allies are also helping Ukraine,” Biden clarified.
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The announcement of the new aid comes just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s emotional speech. He had connected via video to the assembled US Congress and asked for more help. To support his appeal, he also showed a shocking video showing mass graves, bombings and dead children. At the end of the video was the message: “Close the sky over Ukraine”.
>> Read more about Selenski’s appeal to the US Congress here
“The ending sums it up,” Zelenski said in English after the video. In his speech, Zelensky compared the invasion of Ukraine to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which marked the American entry into World War II.
The speech ended with a standing ovation from US senators and lawmakers. The war in Ukraine is one of the few issues on which Democrats and Republicans largely agree. Nevertheless, the USA has not yet gone so far as to enforce the no-fly zone over Ukraine demanded by Zelenskiy. Like other NATO partners, the Americans fear that the war could spread to other countries.
“We will give Ukraine the weapons Ukraine needs to defend itself,” Biden said. And more will come. In addition, Washington continued to impose sanctions that are already eroding the Russian economy.
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