Biden pledges $7.9B in military aid to Ukraine ahead of Zelenskyy meeting

U.S. President Joe Biden announced $7.9 billion in security assistance to Ukraine before meeting with its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. 

“It has been a top priority of my administration to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to prevail,” Biden wrote in his statement Thursday. “In that time, Ukraine has won the battle of Kyiv, reclaimed more than half the territory that Russia seized at the start of the war, and safeguarded its sovereignty and independence. But there is more work to do.”

Zelenskyy thanked Biden, saying, “We will use this assistance in the most efficient and transparent manner to achieve our major common goal: victory for Ukraine, just and lasting peace, and transatlantic security.”

According to Biden’s statement, the U.S. will allocate $5.5 billion through his presidential drawdown authority to fund equipment for Ukraine and another $2.4 billion in security assistance to provide the country with additional air defense, uncrewed aerial systems and air-to-ground munitions, among other equipment.

Biden will also provide Ukraine with Joint Standoff Weapon long-range munitions to improve long-range strike capabilities, and the U.S. will also refurbish and provide Ukraine with an additional Patriot air defense battery and additional Patriot missiles. In addition, they will expand training for Ukrainian F-16 pilots.

Beyond security assistance, Washington also announced an international effort to “disrupt a global cryptocurrency network” that it said was used to counter Russian sanctions evasion and money laundering. 

The U.S. president announced that he will convene a summit-level meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany next month. “My message is clear: The United States will give Ukraine the support it needs to win this war,” Biden wrote at the end of his statement.