US President Joe Biden has reaffirmed the US’s “unwavering commitment” to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity during a symbolic visit to the capital, Kyiv. The visit came days before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion and was intended to demonstrate America’s support for Ukraine.
During the visit, Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the pair visited a memorial to soldiers who have died in the nine years since Russia annexed Crimea and its proxy forces captured parts of the eastern Donbas region.
The US President declared that Russia had been “dead wrong” to think it could outlast Ukraine and its Western allies, and assured Ukraine of US support “for as long as it takes”.
To back this up, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new package of security assistance for Ukraine valued at $450m (£373m). This includes ammunition for howitzers, Javelin missiles, air surveillance radars and an extra $10m (£8.3m) in emergency assistance “to keep Ukraine’s energy infrastructure up and running”.
In addition, further sanctions against individuals and companies “that are trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine” will be announced later this week.
President Zelensky said that the results of Biden’s visit would “surely be seen and will surely be reflected on the battlefield in liberating our territories”. He also discussed the possibility of sending other weapons that so far had not been supplied, such as F-16 fighter jets which the US and other allies have so far stopped short of approving.
The visit was welcomed by Ukrainians in Kyiv, who expressed their gratitude for Biden’s support. Oleksandra Soloviova said it was an “important sign for the whole world”, adding that it showed the US supports Ukraine and will continue to do so with sanctions and military equipment.
The US is one of Ukraine’s biggest allies and has so far announced $24.9bn (£20.6bn) in military assistance. In January, Biden announced that the US would send 31 battle tanks and longer-range missiles are also on their way.
However, there is a growing political divide in the US over the amount of aid Kyiv should receive in future. Following his visit to Ukraine, Biden will travel to Poland where he will meet with President Andrzej Duda and Eastern European members of the Nato military alliance.
US President Joe Biden has reaffirmed America’s “unwavering commitment” to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity during an unannounced and symbolic visit to Kyiv. The visit was intended to demonstrate US support for Ukraine ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
During his trip, Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and visited a memorial to soldiers who have died in the nine years since Russia annexed Crimea and its proxy forces captured parts of the eastern Donbas region. He declared that Russia had been “dead wrong” to think it could outlast Ukraine and its Western allies, and assured Ukraine of US support “for as long as it takes”.
To back this up, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new package of security assistance for Ukraine valued at $450m (£373m). This includes ammunition for howitzers, Javelin missiles, air surveillance radars and an extra $10m (£8.3m) in emergency assistance “to keep Ukraine’s energy infrastructure up and running”. Further sanctions against individuals and companies “that are trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine” will also be announced later this week.
President Zelensky said that the results of Biden’s visit would “surely be seen and will surely be reflected on the battlefield in liberating our territories”. He also discussed the possibility of sending other weapons that so far had not been supplied, such as F-16 fighter jets which the US and other allies have so far stopped short of approving.
The visit was welcomed by Ukrainians in Kyiv, who expressed their gratitude for Biden’s support. Oleksandra Soloviova said it was an “important sign for the whole world”, adding that it showed the US supports Ukraine and will continue to do so with sanctions and military equipment.
The US is one of Ukraine’s biggest allies and has so far announced $24.9bn (£20.6bn) in military assistance. In January, Biden announced that the US would send 31 battle tanks and longer-range missiles are also on their way. However, there is a growing political divide in the US over the amount of aid Kyiv should receive in future.
Following his visit to Ukraine, Biden will travel to Poland where he will meet with President Andrzej Duda and Eastern European members of the Nato military alliance. The trip is intended to demonstrate US commitment to its allies in Europe and its support for democracy in the region.
US President Joe Biden has reaffirmed America’s “unwavering commitment” to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity during an unannounced and symbolic visit to Kyiv. The visit was intended to demonstrate US support for Ukraine ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
During his trip, Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and visited a memorial to soldiers who have died in the nine years since Russia annexed Crimea and its proxy forces captured parts of the eastern Donbas region. He declared that Russia had been “dead wrong” to think it could outlast Ukraine and its Western allies, and assured Ukraine of US support “for as long as it takes”.
To back this up, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new package of security assistance for Ukraine valued at $450m (£373m). This includes ammunition for howitzers, Javelin missiles, air surveillance radars and an extra $10m (£8.3m) in emergency assistance “to keep Ukraine’s energy infrastructure up and running”. Further sanctions against individuals and companies “that are trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine” will also be announced later this week.
President Zelensky said that the results of Biden’s visit would “surely be seen and will surely be reflected on the battlefield in liberating our territories”. He also discussed the possibility of sending other weapons that so far had not been supplied, such as F-16 fighter jets which the US and other allies have so far stopped short of approving.
The visit was welcomed by Ukrainians in Kyiv, who expressed their gratitude for Biden’s support. Oleksandra Soloviova said it was an “important sign for the whole world”, adding that it showed the US supports Ukraine and will continue to do so with sanctions and military equipment.
The US is one of Ukraine’s biggest allies and has so far announced $24.9bn (£20.6bn) in military assistance. In January, Biden announced that the US would send 31 battle tanks and longer-range missiles are also on their way. This demonstrates America’s commitment to supporting Ukraine’s defence capabilities against Russian aggression.
However, there is a growing political divide in the US over the amount of aid Kyiv should receive in future. Following his visit to Ukraine, Biden will travel to Poland where he will meet with President Andrzej Duda and Eastern European members of the Nato military alliance. The trip is intended to demonstrate US commitment to its allies in Europe and its support for democracy in the region.