President Joe Biden Thursday pledged an additional $1.3 billion in new weapons and economic assistance to help Ukraine in his tenacious but increasingly difficult battle once morest the Russian invasion, announcing that he will lobby Congress to authorize much more resources to keep weapons, ammunition and cash flowing.
The most recent military assistance, declared the president, will be sent “directly to the front lines of freedom”.
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Putin is counting on us losing interest. said Biden. The Russian president is betting that “Western unity will fracture…and once once more we will prove him wrong.”
The new package includes $800 million in military assistance for much-needed heavy artillery, and 144,000 rounds of ammunition and drones for the growing battle in the Donbas region, in the east of Ukraine. The package adds to the roughly $2.6 billion in military assistance that Biden previously approved.
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There is also a new direct economic assistance of 500 million dollars for Ukraine which will go to government salaries, pensions and other programs. That brings the total US economic support to $1 billion since Russia started the invasion almost two months ago.
the ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his gratitude but said his nation needs even more, up to $7 billion a month to compensate for economic losses, plus weapons and cash for war.
Due to the thousands of damaged buildings and critical infrastructure reduced to ruins, “We will need hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild“, said Zelenskyvirtually addressing a World Bank meeting in Washington.
Biden stressed the need for the United States and Western allies to remain resolute in supporting Ukraine amid signs that Americans may be growing wary of war.
According to a poll released Thursday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, Americans’ desire to get involved in war has waned somewhat. 32% of those consulted say that the United States should have an important role in the conflict. This shows a decrease from 40% last month, although it is slightly higher than the 26% in February. An additional 49% say Washington should have less of a stake.
The president also announced that ships affiliated with Russia will be barred from entering U.S. ports, though that seemed largely symbolic. Russian ships bring a small amount of cargo that is left in USAand “my guess is that … a good chunk of it was tankers carrying Russian oil, which is already banned anyway,” said Colin Grabow, a research fellow who studies trade at the Cato Institute.
Usually, Biden He said $6.5 billion in security assistance that Congress approved last month in a $13.6 billion package for Ukraine might “run out” soon. With his most recent announcement, the president has approved some $3.4 billion in military assistance since Feb. 24. The combined congressional total also included some $6.8 billion in direct economic assistance to care for refugees and provide economic assistance to allies in the region impacted by the war.and additional funding for federal agencies to monitor the implementation of economic sanctions once morest Russia and provide protection once morest cyber threats.
“Next week I will have to send Congress a supplemental budget request to keep weapons and ammunition deployed without interruption,” Biden said.