OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
1:28 PM – Thursday, September 26, 2024
After President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent visit to Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that more than $8 billion in military aid would be provided to Ukraine in its war against Russia.
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The first delivery of the Joint Standoff Weapon, a precision-guided glide bomb with a maximum range of 81 miles, will be one of the many expensive explosives provided as part of the aid. With the medium-range missile, Ukraine can try to strike Russian forces at “safer ranges,” and it significantly improves its arsenal of weaponry.
“Biden will not announce that Washington would let Ukraine use U.S. missiles to hit targets deeper in Russia, a U.S. official said,” according to Reuters.
“We’re making clear that we stand with Ukraine now and in the future,” Biden told reporters ahead of a bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. He said the U.S. would continue to help Ukraine strengthen its position on the battlefield, and that he had directed the Pentagon to allocate all remaining security funding by the end of his term in January.
Zelenskyy praised Biden for his decision to give Ukraine even more assistance, and he emphasized the need to secure Ukraine’s membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union.
At least $5.5 billion of the extra aid will be disbursed before the financing authority expires on Monday, the last day of the U.S. fiscal year. Under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, an additional $2.4 billion is available, enabling the administration to purchase more weapons for Ukraine from companies.
According to Biden, this will boost Ukraine’s defense industrial base, support its maintenance and sustainment needs, and give it more air defense, unmanned aerial systems, and air-to-ground weapons.
The president stated that his proposal also calls for the Defense Department to repair and supply Ukraine with more Patriot missiles and an extra Patriot air defense battery.
In order to boost training for Ukrainian F-16 pilots, Biden directed the Pentagon to support U.S.-funded training of at least 18 pilots in the upcoming year.
“I am grateful to the United States for providing the items that are most critical to protecting our people,” Zelenskyy said on X (Twitter), noting the Patriot battery, the large number of drones, and other long-range missiles.
At a campaign rally in North Carolina on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump expressed his own feelings regarding the continuous U.S. funding of billions of dollars to Ukraine.
“We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refused to make a deal, Zelenskyy,” Trump reminded the crowd.
Time Magazine and the BBC outlet also had some discouraging words to say about Ukraine’s war efforts.
“U.S. officials also need to recognize that even if this aid continues, there is no realistic chance of total Ukrainian victory next year, or the year after that. Even if the Ukrainians can build up their forces, Russia can deepen its defenses even more,” Time Magazine reported.
Meanwhile, the BBC reported that: “the former commander of the UK’s Joint Forces Command has warned that Ukraine could face defeat by Russia in 2024.”
According to AllSides’ Political Bias Meter, the BBC lands “center-left,” while Time Magazine leans fully “left” politically.
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