US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced $8 billion in military assistance for Ukraine to help the country ‘win this war’ against Russia.
Biden said his administration has decided to provide Ukraine with the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) long-range munition.
“To further strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses, I have directed the Department of Defense to refurbish and provide Ukraine with an additional Patriot air defense battery and to provide Ukraine with additional Patriot missiles.
“This builds on my decision earlier this year to divert U.S. air defense exports to Ukraine, which will provide Ukraine with hundreds of additional Patriot and AMRAAM missiles over the next year and will help Ukraine defend its cities and its people,” Biden said in a statement issued by the White House.
Biden said to build the capacity of Ukraine’s air force, he has directed the Department of Defense to expand training for Ukrainian F-16 pilots.
Biden’s announcement followed his meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House.
“I am proud to welcome President Zelenskyy back to the White House today. For nearly three years, the United States has rallied the world to stand with the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom from Russian aggression, and it has been a top priority of my Administration to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to prevail,” Biden said.
Biden said: “I have directed the Department of Defense to allocate all of its remaining security assistance funding that has been appropriated for Ukraine by the end of my term in office.
“As part of this effort, the Department of Defense will allocate the remaining Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funds by the end of this year. I also have authorized $5.5 billion in Presidential Drawdown Authority to ensure this authority does not expire, so that my Administration can fully utilize the funding appropriated by Congress to support the drawdown of U.S. equipment for Ukraine and then replenish U.S. stockpiles.”
He said: “The Department of Defense is announcing $2.4 billion in security assistance through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which will provide Ukraine with additional air defense, Unmanned Aerial Systems, and air-to-ground munitions, as well as strengthen Ukraine’s defense industrial base and support its maintenance and sustainment requirements.”
What did Zelenskyy say in UNGA?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that Russia cannot defeat his people on the battlefield, so it is looking for other ways to break the Ukrainian spirit, deplorably by targeting its vital energy infrastructure as winter approaches.
“These are deliberate Russian attacks on our powerplants and entire energy grid,” he said, noting that it has destroyed all Ukrainian thermal power plants and a large part of the hydro-electric capacity.
“This is how [Russian President] Putin is preparing for winter, hoping to torment millions of Ukrainians – ordinary families, women and children, and ordinary towns and villages. Putin wants to leave them in the dark and cold this winter forcing Ukraine to suffer and surrender.”
President Zelenskyy asked the leaders, assembled in the General Assembly Hall for the annual general debate, to imagine the situation in their countries, if 80 per cent of their energy systems are destroyed.
He continued, noting that according to his intelligence, Moscow plans attacks on Ukraine’s nuclear power plants and their infrastructure with the aim of disconnecting them from the power grid.
“If, God forbid, Russia causes a nuclear disaster at one of our nuclear power plants, radiation won’t respect state borders, and unfortunately, various nations could feel the devastating effects,” he warned.
Further in his address, President Zelenskyy highlighted the failure of the Security Council in dealing with the war, noting that “when the aggressor exercises veto power, the UN is powerless.”
He contrasted that with his proposed peace formula, which he said is supported by nearly 100 nations and international organizations and in which “there is no veto power”.
“That’s why it’s the best opportunity for peace – everyone is equal, and it’s effective and comprehensive,” he said, noting also that it prioritizes nuclear safety, energy security, food security, the return of prisoners of war and the protection of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Against that backdrop, he criticized “alternatives, half-hearted settlement plans” to the peace formula, adding that such attempts “not only ignore the interests and suffering of the Ukrainians”, but also give “Putin the political space to continue the war”.
“Any parallel or alternative attempts to seek peace are, in fact, efforts to achieve a lull instead of an end to the war,” he said.
“I want peace for my people – real peace and just peace. And I am asking for your support – from all nations of the world,” he added, “be united nations, and that will bring us peace.”
