December 23, 2024

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Biden to announce $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, official says

Biden to announce $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, official says
Officials familiar with the plans said the military assistance package will include anti-tank missiles and more defensive weapons the United States has already provided, including Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. Help, however, will stop achieving No-fly zone Or the combat aircraft that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said were necessary for the continuation of Ukraine’s war against Russia.
Additional help news, which was first reported by The Wall Street JournalIt comes as the White House continues to face intense pressure from Congress and Zelensky to find new ways to help Ukraine. The Ukrainian president who stayed in his country, Addressing members of the US Congress Wednesday remotely and renewed his calls for more help.

Biden will deliver his remarks later Wednesday.

Given that Zelensky is expected to be specific in his requests, officials say they also expect Biden to be specific about the new $800 million in assistance that will be directed to Ukraine, including the armed drones that Zelensky has called for.

Officials declined to confirm whether armed drones would be included in Biden’s remarks or whether a decision had been made.

The $800 million in security assistance comes from Huge spending bill The president signed into law a law Tuesday, which includes a total of $13.6 billion in new aid to Ukraine.

The Biden administration will consider getting hundreds of millions of new aid to Ukraine as quickly as possible, with the president noting on Tuesday that it has become “extremely difficult” to get new supplies into Ukraine, even though they are still able to do so.

The Biden administration also continues to develop sanctions targeting senior Russian officials and those in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, with plans to increase the number of targets in the coming days and weeks, according to several US officials.

The officials said the operation was ongoing, and had taken into account specific suggestions for targets made by senior Ukrainian officials, including Zelensky. One official said that Zelensky in contact with Biden last week set a more specific set of targets for individual sanctions. The management is currently working on addressing those required objectives.

In his hypothetical remarks to Congress, Zelensky went even further when he asked the United States to impose sanctions on all Russian politicians who continue to support the government. While some of Zelensky’s requests, including the implementation of a no-fly zone, remain off the table for Biden, the administration views sanctions as a tool they can easily deploy.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States has imposed sanctions on dozens of high-ranking Russian officials and oligarchs, as well as their family members. Biden also signed off on targeting Putin directly with individual sanctions, in coordination with the European Union and the United Kingdom.

In a sign of the speed with which US officials are looking to move in support of Ukraine, the administration has sent about $300 million of the $350 million to Biden. recently authorized to Ukraine in just over two weeks.
As the Russian invasion intensified, Zelensky pressured Biden and NATO to do more, expressing frustration with Western allies’ concerns about provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian leader called Article 5which is the principle that an attack on one NATO country is considered an attack on all NATO countries, is “weak”.

“Some countries of the coalition have intimidated themselves, saying that they cannot respond. They cannot collide with Russian missiles and planes in the skies of Ukraine. Because this, they say, will lead to escalation, and will lead to the third attack. World war … and what will they say if Russia goes Beyond that to Europe, and attacking other countries? I am sure the same thing they would say to Ukraine.” “Article 5 of the NATO Treaty has never been as weak as it is now. This is only our opinion.”

CNN’s Zachary Cohen, Natasha Bertrand, Jeremy Herb and Katie Bo Lillis contributed to this report.