Biden “reaffirms the U.S. government’s strong bipartisan support for Ukraine’s sovereignty” (document)
Washington:
U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday blamed Congress for inaction that allowed Russia to seize the eastern Ukrainian stronghold of Avdievka, as partisanship blocked $60 billion in much-needed military aid.
Biden called President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday to “underscore the United States’ continued commitment to support Ukraine” as Ukrainian forces were running low on supplies, according to a White House statement summarizing the call.
The report said that Ukraine’s withdrawal from Avdivka “resulted in Russia’s first significant progress in months after Ukrainian soldiers had to ration ammunition due to reduced supplies due to congressional inaction.”
Biden “reaffirmed the strong bipartisan support of the United States Government and the American people for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” and he called on Congress to urgently pass a spending bill that includes aid to Ukraine.
National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said earlier: “Ukrainians continue to fight bravely, but their supplies are low.” She added that Ukraine needed artillery ammunition and other critical equipment.
Zelensky posted on Telegram after the call: “I am very happy to have the full support of the President of the United States. We also believe in the wise decision of the U.S. Congress.”
The fall of Avdievka, an industrial city in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region, was a major symbolic victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Although now mostly destroyed, Avdievka has been a symbol of Ukraine’s determined resistance to Russian aggression since 2014.
The U.S. statement of support came as Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken were busy reassuring Western allies at the Munich Security Conference that Washington would continue to support Kiev’s war effort against the Russian invasion.
Donald Trump’s allies in the House of Representatives have been delaying vital aid to Ukraine as existing U.S. funding has dried up.
Trump, the likely Republican nominee in November’s presidential race, has opposed helping Kyiv and recently used his influence to veto a U.S. border reform bill that would also have authorized additional aid to Ukraine.
Speaking alongside Zelensky in Munich earlier Saturday, Harris said: “This is about our support for Ukraine and we have to be steadfast and we can’t play political games.”
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