Biden approves $200M in emergency aid for Ukraine during Zelenskyy meeting
President Biden on Tuesday announced that he has approved another $200 million in military aid for Ukraine during a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while Congress is stalled on a much larger aid package.
Details on the president’s package were not immediately clear, but last week Mr. Biden had approved $175 million in additional military aid for Ukraine.
“People need to be confident freedom is secure,” Mr Biden said.
Mr. Biden announced the move at the end of his meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart after he failed to assure skeptical lawmakers to approve tens of billions in military aid to fend off Russian invaders.
After his last-ditch effort to convince lawmakers to provide the aid, Mr. Zelenskyy arrived at the White House, where he found a more sympathetic ear in Mr. Biden.
Mr. Zelenskyy insisted that “Ukraine can win,” but he needs to strengthen the country’s air defense system.
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Mr. Biden is seeking about $60 billion in additional Ukraine aid as part of a more than $100 billion spending package that has received a lukewarm reception in the House and Senate.
Despite the frosty response from GOP lawmakers, Mr. Biden said that he was committed to getting the funds approved, and the U.S. will remain in support of Ukraine.
“I don’t want you giving up hope,” Mr. Biden told Mr. Zelenskyy. “We’re going to stay at your side.”
The smaller aid package would come through presidential drawdown authority, letting Mr. Biden pull weapons from U.S. stockpiles and send them to other nations at war. State Department officials said it was one of the last security assistance packages the U.S. could provide to Ukraine because it comes under previously directed drawdowns.
The weapons package Mr. Biden announced last week includes guided missiles for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, anti-armor systems and high-speed anti-radiation missiles, Mr. Biden said.
