Biden says he will ensure that “the world is on Kyiv’s side”

O The United States leader received with his wife, Jill Biden, the couple Volodymyr and Olena Zelensky at the White House, where the Ukrainian leader, speaking in the Oval Office, argued that continued financial and military aid “is very important” for Kyiv and thanked American representatives and the people of the United States for their “great, immense support.”

The long-awaited meeting between Biden and Zelensky was preceded by visits by the President of Ukraine to the Pentagon and the Capitol, where he met behind closed doors with representatives of the House of Representatives and the Senate, at a time when Kyiv needs to maintain the support of the United States, in particular from Congress, to continue the war effort against Moscow’s troops

Congress is considering an additional aid package for Kyiv worth 24 billion dollars (22.5 billion euros), when reservations have been known from republican representatives regarding the continuation of aid to Ukraine, given the difficulties that the Ukrainian Army has experienced in the ongoing counteroffensive against Russian forces.

Before the meeting between Zelensky and Biden, the White House announced today that the United States will deliver “important” defense assets to Ukraine, but without currently providing the long-range ATACMS missiles requested by Kyiv.

The US President “has decided that he will not provide [mísseis] ATACMS, but did not exclude this possibility in the future”, said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at a press conference.

Volodymyr Zelensky declared this week that it would be a “disappointment” if he did not return to Kyiv without these powerful tactical missiles.

However, Sullivan praised the results of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, criticized by several US military officials who have spoken in the media anonymously.

“In reality, Ukraine is in the process of recovering ground, it is doing so methodically, step by step,” he said.

Joe Biden’s advisor stated that, in particular due to American military assistance, Ukrainian forces were able to “liberate in three months more territory than the Russians were able to take in eight months.”

“Several large cities in Ukraine are not under Russian occupation or rule today. First, because of the courage of Ukrainian soldiers and the Ukrainian people who support them, but also, not inconsiderably, because of the military support we provided them,” he said. Jake Sullivan.

The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since the Second World War (1939-1945).

Ukraine’s Western allies have supplied weapons to Kyiv and approved successive sanctions packages against Russian interests to try to diminish Moscow’s ability to finance the war effort.

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