President Joe Biden pledged continued US military support to Kyiv in a highly symbolic Oval Office meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the Ukrainian president’s first trip abroad since Russia invaded more than 300 days
Wearing a striped tie in Ukraine’s national colors of blue and yellow, Biden told Zelenskyy that he was “delighted” that his counterpart was able to visit despite Russia’s increasing assaults on Ukrainian civilians and “trying to use the ‘winter as a weapon’. He promised that the two countries would maintain a “united defense”.
Shortly before Zelenskyy arrived in Washington, his aides announced $1.85 billion in new lethal assistance to Kyiv, including the coveted advanced Patriot missile defense system.
“We will support Ukraine to achieve a just peace,” Biden said.
Zelenskyy, dressed in his usual military green cargo pants and a hoodie with the Ukrainian state emblem, described his visit as “a great honor” and said he had wanted to come earlier.
He thanked Biden, Congress and the “ordinary people” of the US for their support, and presented the US president with a medal awarded to the captain of a unit in the Donbas that uses Himars, a mobile artillery system supplied by the United States, than the soldier. asked to pass it to Biden.
Zelenskiy’s visit comes at a critical time in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Officials in Kyiv have warned that Moscow is preparing for a possible winter offensive as Ukraine fends off Russian attacks on two fronts: on the ground, where the fighting is taking place between the military, and in sky, where Moscow has hit Ukraine’s critical energy. infrastructure
Western weaponry will be critical to Ukraine’s ability to maintain its defenses. Kyiv has long sought the Patriot system, which analysts say will be a powerful addition to the country’s air defenses, although it will not provide immediate respite from the massive Russian missile and drone attacks that are crippling Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure .
A senior US defense official said the Patriots would complement other weapons already provided by the US and its NATO allies.
“For air defense, there is no silver bullet,” the official said. “Patriot will complement a number of medium- and short-range air defense capabilities that we have provided and that allies have provided in previous donation packages.”
Ukrainian forces will need several months of training before they can successfully use the system, the official said.
The Biden administration sought to use the visit to show US support for Ukraine as the country faces a harsh winter. Biden and his wife Jill greeted Zelenskyy outside the White House shortly after the Ukrainian leader landed outside Washington in a US Air Force jet that flew into Joint Base Andrews to Maryland from Poland.
Later, Zelenskyy is due to address a joint session of Congress before returning to Kyiv.
In addition to the Patriot system, the US also announced that it will transfer for the first time Joint Direct Attack Munitions, which turn unguided aerial munitions into “smart bombs”, allowing Ukrainian forces to more precisely target Russian military positions.
The US will train Ukrainian troops on the Patriot system, likely in Germany, for weeks before it arrives in Ukraine. It is expected to take some time before the system is operational on the battlefield.
Congress will also vote this week on a spending bill that includes $45 billion in additional funds for Kyiv. The US has already committed tens of billions of dollars in military, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February.
However, Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have suggested that passing additional aid to Kyiv will be more difficult next year when they take control of the lower house of Congress.
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that it did not expect any positive developments or changes in Kyiv’s position on peace talks after Zelenskiy’s visit to Washington.
“The supply of arms to Ukraine continues and its scope is expanding. It leads to the aggravation of the conflict and does not bode well for Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Additional reporting by Aime Williams in Washington, Anastasia Stognei in Riga and Christopher Miller in Kyiv