PARIS — U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday for the first time publicly apologized to Ukraine for a months-long congressional delay in American military assistance that allowed Russia to make battlefield gains, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to bipartisan U.S. support “as it was during World War II.”
Speaking in Paris, a day after they both participated in ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, Biden apologized to the Ukrainian people for the weeks in which they didn’t know whether further assistance would come while conservative Republicans in Congress held up a package for 61 dollars. billion-dollar military aid package for Ukraine over six months.
Still, the Democratic president insisted that the American people were with Ukraine in the long run. “We’re still inside. Completely. Completely,” he said.
The apology — and Zelenskyy’s call for similar solid support for the Allied coalition in World War II — served as a reminder that for all Biden’s talk of a relentless U.S. commitment to Ukraine, recalcitrance among Congressional Republicans and an isolationist strain in American politics led to Russian gains on the battlefield. And although it went unnoticed, the specter of Donald Trump’s candidacy loomed large over the discussion, as the former Republican president and presumptive nominee spoke positively of Russian President Vladimir Putin and raised concerns in Ukraine that he would appeal to cession of territory to end the conflict.
Zelenskyy pressed all Americans to support their country’s defense against Russia’s invasion and thanked lawmakers for eventually coming together to pass the weapons package, which allowed Ukraine to counter Russian advances in recent weeks.
“It is very important that in this unity, United States of America, all the American people stand with Ukraine as happened during World War II,” Zelenskyy said. «How the United States helped to save human lives, to save Europe. And we count on your continued support to support us shoulder to shoulder.”
The United States is by far the largest provider of wartime support to Kiev, and Ukraine is trying to defend itself from an intense Russian offensive in the eastern parts of the country. The pressure is concentrated in the Ukrainian border regions of Kharkiv and Donetsk, but Ukrainian authorities say it could spread as Russia’s largest army seeks to assert its advantage.
The offensive seeks to exploit shortages of ammunition and troops in Kiev along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.
The slow pace of delivery of long-promised Western weaponry frustrates Zelenskyy, as does Biden’s hesitancy to provide more equipment for fear of provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin. This caused tension in their relationship.
The US will send about $225 million in military aid to Ukraine, Biden announced on Friday. The latest package includes ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, as well as mortar systems and an array of artillery projectiles, U.S. officials said Thursday.
Biden framed the additional aid in his meeting with Zelenskyy as money to “rebuild the power grid” in Ukraine, a reference aides said was to additional air defense and missile defense systems in the new package.
Softening their stance amid Russia’s latest attack and with Ukraine’s military reeling, some NATO allies, including the US, said last week they would allow Ukraine to use weapons it delivered to Kiev to carry out limited attacks inside Ukraine. Russia.
That move provoked a furious response from the Kremlin, which warned that the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II could spiral out of control.
Biden and Zelenskyy attended D-Day anniversary events in Normandy, northern France, on Thursday, along with European leaders who supported Kiev’s war efforts. Biden promised “we will not abandon” Ukraine, drawing a direct line between the fight to free Europe from Nazi domination and today’s war against Russian aggression.
Ukraine describes its fight against Kremlin forces as a clash between Western democratic freedom and Russian tyranny. Russia says it is defending itself against a threatening eastward expansion of the NATO military alliance.
In a 20-minute speech to the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament, Zelenskyy drew a parallel with the sacrifices made during World War II and his country’s current struggle.
“This battle is a crossroads,” Zelenskyy said. “A moment where we can now write history the way we need to. Or we can become victims of history as it suits…our enemy.”
Zelenskyy, who spoke in Ukrainian, was frequently interrupted by lawmakers’ applause and cheers. He received a standing ovation when he said in French: “Dear France, I thank you for being by our side as we defend life.”
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday that France will supply Ukraine with its Mirage fighter jet.
Macron has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine. He said in February that the deployment of Western troops on the ground in Ukraine is “not ruled out.”
Zelenskyy began a day of meetings in Paris with an official welcome ceremony at the gold-domed Invalides monument, the site of Napoleon’s tomb.
During the day, Zelenskyy was due to visit the Nexter weapons manufacturer in Versailles, which makes the Caesar self-propelled howitzers, which are among the weapons supplied by France to Kiev’s forces.
He would also meet Macron at the Élysée Palace.
Zelenskyy’s foreign trips are aimed at keeping Ukraine’s situation in the public eye, securing more military aid for its fight against Russia’s invasion and securing long-term Western support through bilateral alliances.
France and Ukraine signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement in February. Since then, Zelenskyy has signed similar bilateral agreements with many European countries.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
