The US president says Washington is still “completely” on Kiev’s side to defend itself from the Russian invasion.
US President Joe Biden apologized to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy for previous delays in Washington’s aid to Kiev, stressing that the US “will not give up” on support for Ukraine.
The two leaders met on Friday in Paris on the sidelines of the D-Day anniversary celebrations, where the US president announced a $225 million aid package to help rebuild Ukraine’s power grid.
Biden emphasized that the US will continue to support Ukraine against the Russian invasion. “We’re still in — completely, completely,” he said.
Washington has provided tens of billions of dollars to Kiev to help fend off the Russian offensive that began in February 2022. But earlier this year, funds available for the Biden administration to help Ukraine began to dwindle during a congressional impasse to authorize new aid.
Some right-wing lawmakers have been skeptical of U.S. support for Ukraine. Further complicating the situation, lawmakers have attempted to tie Ukraine aid to other issues, including assistance to Israel and domestic priorities.
After months of negotiations between the White House and congressional leaders, lawmakers approved a $61 billion Ukraine financing bill in April, which Biden signed into law. The legislation also provided $14 billion in military aid to Israel.
“I apologize for the weeks of not knowing what’s going on in terms of funding,” Biden told Zelenskyy, blaming “very conservative” members of Congress for delaying the funding bill.
Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine after a months-long standoff that saw Moscow mass troops near the Ukrainian border while Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded an end to NATO expansion in the former Soviet republics.
Ukrainian forces stopped Russia’s advance on Kiev early in the war and repelled Kremlin troops in some areas. But the conflict slowly turned into a protracted war, with most of the fighting taking place in eastern Ukraine.
A Ukrainian counteroffensive last year failed to make significant territorial gains. In recent weeks, Russia has renewed attacks on Kharkiv, a city in northeastern Ukraine that is 30 km (20 miles) from the Russian border.
On Friday, Biden praised what he called Ukraine’s “impressive” war efforts against Russia.
“You didn’t bow. You haven’t given up anything. You continue to fight in a remarkable way,” he told Zelenskyy.
Last month, Washington said it gave Kiev the green light to use US-supplied weapons to attack targets inside Russia to help protect Kharkiv.
Zelenskyy suggested on Friday that the move was making a difference in the conflict.
“His decisions had [a] Positive influence. I don’t want to share everything, every detail, with the press, sorry,” Zelenskyy told Biden. “But I think there are some details about the battlefield that you need to hear from us. We are grateful for that.”
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
