Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi is visiting Washington, USA and met with President Joe Biden, Defense Minister Lloyd Austin and lawmakers in Congress.
President of the United States Joe Biden has announced a new arms aid package for Ukraine, the value of which is approximately 325 million dollars, or a good 300 million euros.
Biden announced the contents of the package at the White House of the President of Ukraine to Volodymyr Zelensky during the visit.
Biden announced that the aid package includes, among other things, anti-aircraft and missile systems, ammunition. He also said that the first M1 Abrams tanks will be delivered to Ukraine during the next week.
Zelenskyi, in turn, said that an agreement has been reached between the two countries to strengthen Ukraine’s defense. He specified that the United States will help improve Ukraine’s air defense during the winter.
Biden also told Zelensky that he guarantees the whole world will stand with Ukraine against the Russian occupation.
Zelenskyi, in turn, thanked the United States for all the help that Ukraine has received in its fight against “Russian terror”.
Long-range missiles were still missing from the package
To Zelensky’s disappointment, the US administration made it clear that Ukraine would not be given long-range ATACMS artillery missiles in the upcoming aid package. The matter was revealed by the National Security Adviser of the White House Jake Sullivan at a press conference before Zelensky’s visit to the White House began.
According to Sullivan, Biden decided not to send ATACMS missiles, but the option has not been completely ruled out in the future.
Earlier, Zelenskyi met the US Defense Minister in Washington Lloyd Austin’s. According to the press secretary of the Ministry of Defense, i.e. the Pentagon, the meeting was “very warm and charming”. He adds that Zelenskyi and Austin had a “good conversation”.
On Thursday, Zelenskyi also met with US lawmakers. Zelenskyi said that he had a direct and constructive dialogue with them.
ATACMS artillery missiles have been on the wish list of the Ukrainian administration for a long time. The United States has been reluctant to give the country weapons to attack deep into Russia. Long-range weapon systems have been feared to increase the risk of escalation and the probability of a direct conflict between NATO countries and Russia.
The lack of missiles in the aid package is a repeat of last year’s disappointment for Ukraine, as they were already on the wish list of President Zelensky, who is visiting Washington, during his previous visit to the United States in December of last year.
Sources: Reuters, AFP, STT