President Biden held a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday after their meeting at the White House, and shared their push for Congress’s approval for more aid for Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia. Mr. Biden announced that he’s signed an additional $200 million in drawdown funds for Ukraine, sharing at the press conference: “Ukraine will emerge from this war — proud, free, and firmly rooted in the West, unless we walk away. The American people can be and should be incredibly proud of the part they played in supporting Ukraine’s success. We will continue to supply Ukraine with critical weapons and equipment as long as we can, including $200 million I just approved today in a critical, needed equipment, additional air defense interceptors, artillery and ammunition. But without supplemental funding, we’re rapidly coming to an end of our ability to help Ukraine respond to the urgent operational demands that it has.”
Zelenskyy met with senators and House Speaker Mike Johnson on Capitol Hill, to request additional aid to Ukraine. However, while GOP senators expressed support for Zelenskyy, they also demanded stricter border security measures and immigration policy changes in exchange for more funding, adding that the Biden administration must still agree to immigration changes before they agree to another round of assistance.
Mr. Biden shared there is “strong” bipartisan support for Ukraine, despite the disagreements on Capitol Hill, and later added: “We want to see Ukraine win the war, and as I’ve said before, winning means Ukraine is a sovereign, independent nation that can afford to defend itself today and deter further aggression. That’s our objective … There is strong bipartisan political support for Ukraine — a small number of Republicans who don’t want to support Ukraine, but they don’t speak for the majority of even Republicans, in my view. “We’re in negotiations to get funding we need, not to promise — not making promises, but hopeful we can get there, and I think we can.”
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