Meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, US President Joe Biden pledges to further step up military support, including a new missile system, for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
“We’re going to continue to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend itself, particularly air defense,” Biden told Zelensky during a press conference that followed their meeting at the Oval Office.
“Ukraine’s fight is part of something much bigger,” Biden noted.
Zelenskiy called vows of long-term US military support including a new missile system a “crucial step”.
The Ukrainian president’s trip to the US was his first known first foreign visit since February 24, when Russia began the war on Ukraine, with the aim of defending the pro-Russian population in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk against Kiev.
Biden said the US and Ukraine would continue to project a “united defense” against Russia as the war drags on.
The United States has so far sent about $50 billion in military assistance to the Kiev government.
As Zelensky arrived, the United States announced another $1.85 billion from previously budgeted funds for Ukraine, including for the first time the advanced Patriot air system, which is capable of shooting down cruise missiles and short-range ballistic missiles.
Congress also plans to vote on a spending package that includes about an additional $45 billion in so-called “emergency assistance” to Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that new weapons deliveries would lead to an “aggravation of the conflict” and do not “bode well for Ukraine.”
Source: Press TV
