US President Joe Biden’s administration announced $1.85 billion in additional military aid to Ukraine, including a Patriot missile battery to help the country bolster its defenses this winter as its leader, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, arrives in Washington on Wednesday to deliver an in-person address to Congress.
(Bloomberg) — US President Joe Biden’s administration announced $1.85 billion in additional military aid to Ukraine, including a Patriot missile battery to help the country bolster its defenses this winter as its leader, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, arrives in Washington on Wednesday to deliver an in-person address to Congress.
Zelenskiy left Ukraine for the first time since Russia invaded in February and at a critical stage in the war. His country has faced a barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks targeting Ukraine’s civilians and critical energy infrastructure in recent weeks, leading to power and water cuts.
The speech to Congress gives Zelenskiy the opportunity to personally appeal to US lawmakers to continue assistance for Ukraine even after Republicans, who have been more skeptical of Biden’s support for the country, take control of the House in January. Zelenskiy has pleaded for more advanced weapons systems to blunt Russian attacks and for additional energy and economic support as civilians brace for a brutal winter ahead.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Zelenskiy’s visit to Washington will show “strong, bipartisan support for Ukraine.”
To that end, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was authorizing a $1 billion drawdown to provide arms and equipment, including the Patriot air-defense system that can target aircraft and incoming missiles at higher altitudes than previous weaponry the US has supplied. The Department of Defense is also offering an additional $850 million under its Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
The US will provide training on operating the system for Ukrainian forces in a third country, according to a senior administration official. The official reiterated the US is not changing its policy on troops and that Ukraine will staff and operate the Patriot battery.
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Biden will greet Zelenskiy on the South Lawn of the White House at 2 p.m. Washington time. The Ukrainian leader will then meet with Biden and members of his national security team and Cabinet before joining the US president for a press conference at 4:30 p.m., ahead of his remarks to Congress.
In their meeting, the two leaders will have the chance to discuss strategy on the battlefield, sanctions and export controls that are in place on Russia, as well as economic, energy sector and humanitarian assistance, according to the senior official.
The speech to Congress falls on the 300th day since Russia invaded Ukraine. Biden and Zelenskiy, 44, discussed a visit during a Dec. 11 phone call, and the White House formally invited him on Dec. 14th. Zelenskiy accepted Biden’s invitation last Friday, according to the official.
Zelenskiy will be in the US for just a few hours, according to the senior administration official, who said the US consulted with him closely about his security requirements and ability to travel outside his country safely.
Appeal to Congress
Congress has provided more than $65 billion to address Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Lawmakers are poised by the end of the week to send a $1.7 trillion fiscal 2023 spending bill to Biden that includes an additional $45 billion to aid the country.
But it’s unclear if there will be substantial aid for Ukraine in the next Congress.
House Republicans have vowed to more closely scrutinize Biden’s financial assistance to Ukraine next year. House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, who is likely to be the next speaker, has said Ukraine will no longer receive a “blank check” from the US — and Biden, ahead of the November midterm elections, said he was “worried” Republicans would slash aid to the embattled country if they took control of Congress.
Republicans are divided between younger conservative firebrands and more veteran lawmakers over their approach to Ukraine.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, mocked the news of Zelenskiy’s visit in a tweet Tuesday, writing: “Of course the shadow president has to come to Congress and explain why he needs billions of American’s taxpayer dollars for the 51st state, Ukraine.”
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But in the Senate, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has said he backs assistance for Kyiv. “We have and need to have an obligation to help people defend themselves and fight for their own freedom,” McConnell said Tuesday.
Zelenskiy has addressed Congress before. In March, shortly after Russia’s invasion, he spoke to lawmakers by video link from the war zone. In that address to the US House and Senate, he implored lawmakers for immediate assistance and invoked parallels to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and Pearl Harbor.
Advanced Weapons
The US announcement of a Patriot missile battery marks a significant escalation in its support for Ukraine. Zelenskiy has pressed the US for more advanced weapons systems to fend off the barrage of Russian air attacks.
It is unclear how quickly the US will be able to deliver the Patriot battery to Ukraine or how long the training for Ukrainian forces would take.
“It takes a long time for our troops to get trained on how to operate them so we’ll have to factor all that in going forward,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN on Wednesday when asked how long it would take to get the Patriot missiles operational.
Zelenskiy’s US visit follows a trip by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday to Belarus, which allowed Russia to invade Ukraine from its territory. The Kremlin said the two leaders’ talks would focus on their “strategic partnership and alliance.”
Kirby said Tuesday the US has no indications that Belorussian forces are becoming actively involved in the conflict but that Minsk continues to enable Putin’s war effort.
–With assistance from Justin Sink, Emily Wilkins, Daryna Krasnolutska and Erik Wasson.
(Updates with details of US assistance in sixth, seventh paragraphs)
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