Biden announces new $800 million aid package to Ukraine

Biden: the war in Ukraine will continue to affect the world economy 0:33

(CNN) --

President Joe Biden said Thursday that the United States will send an additional $800 million in military assistance to Ukraine as Russia's war enters what he called a "critical window," but warned that congressional action it is needed for more shipments as the war progresses.

The speech was Biden's first war-related public act in weeks, and it came just before he left Washington for a two-day tour of the Pacific Northwest.

While the issue has consumed his agenda, Biden advisers have expected him to focus on domestic issues, such as rising prices and gasoline prices.

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However, Biden made it clear that neither he nor his allied partners would relent in their attempts to punish Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Putin is betting that we lose interest," Biden said.

"Once again, we are going to prove him wrong."

In his speech, Biden tried to project momentum in the Ukraine battle, saying that Putin "will never succeed in dominating and occupying all of Ukraine."

However, his pending request to Congress for additional funding was a sign that he doesn't think the conflict will end any time soon.

And the administration's announcement that it would accept tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees on humanitarian grounds was a sign that the White House was considering the future consequences of Russia's war.

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Biden announced the new shipments, which include heavy artillery and 144,000 rounds of ammunition, in a speech from the White House meant to update Americans on the state of the conflict, which is approaching its second month and entering what the US officials have said it could be a bloody new phase.

He also said Russian ships would be barred from US ports.

Biden said Russia "refocused" its campaign on seizing new territory in eastern Ukraine, making the flow of military aid from the West essential.

"We're in a critical window of time where they're going to set the stage for the next phase of this war," Biden said of Russia's military plans.

"The United States and our allies and partners are moving as quickly as possible to continue to provide Ukraine ... with the weapons that they need, the equipment that they need, that their forces need to defend their nation."

The new military aid package announced by the president amounts to about $800 million, following a similarly sized move earlier this month.

If approved, this package would mean that the United States has committed approximately $3.4 billion in aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24.

This would be the last presidential withdrawal until Congress approves more money for weapons to Ukraine.

In a presidential rollback, the Defense Department is withdrawing weapons and equipment from US inventories and sending them to Ukraine instead of buying new weapons from manufacturers.

• ANALYSIS |

  A major change in Ukraine, and the US hopes more weapons will help

Biden said he would make a formal request next week for Congress to pass a second supplemental funding package to help Ukraine, adding that he hoped Congress would "move and act quickly" on the package.

"To sustain Ukraine through this fight, next week I will have to submit a supplemental budget request to Congress to keep weapons and ammunition flowing uninterrupted to the brave Ukrainian fighters and to continue providing economic aid to the Ukrainian people," Biden said.

Speaking of the importance of getting aid to Ukraine, Biden paraphrased a famous quote from former President Theodore Roosevelt, telling reporters: "Sometimes we'll talk softly and bring a big Javelin, because we're sending a lot of those too."

He was referring to an anti-tank missile that the United States has provided to the Ukrainian Army.

In his speech from the White House, Biden brought Americans up to date on US efforts to support the people of Ukraine, in addition to unveiling the new aid package, which has been finalized in recent days.

Earlier in the day, Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, and the president joined the conversation.

"We had a good discussion," Biden said.

Biden also announced that the United States will bar Russian-affiliated vessels from US ports.

Although Russian ship traffic represents a relatively small percentage of total US port activity, the move is in line with a ban on Russian aircraft in US airspace that the Biden administration previously announced. .

"No ship flying the Russian flag, or owned or operated by Russian interests, will be allowed to dock in United States ports or access our shores," Biden said.

He said it was "another critical step" that the United States was taking with its allies in Canada and Europe "to deny Russia the benefits of the international economic system that they have enjoyed so much in the past."

The latest package would come a week after the Biden administration authorized another $800 million security package, which included artillery and anti-artillery radars for the first time since the Russian invasion began.

The Biden administration is working to get military aid to Ukraine as soon as possible because it believes the war is at a critical stage and continued US aid could make a difference as Russian attacks intensify. in eastern Ukraine.

• ANALYSIS |

  What is Russia's military strategy after retreating from Kyiv?

The more open terrain in that region favors the use of artillery and long-range systems, which is why the administration has emphasized getting those types of systems quickly as the fighting moves away from Kyiv and into the region of the Donbas.

Biden discussed additional Western aid to Ukraine with other world leaders in a secure video call on Monday, also expressing the need to provide Ukraine with more ammunition.

Other countries, such as Canada and the Netherlands, this week announced their own arms shipments to Ukraine.

In a meeting with his top military officials at the White House on Wednesday, Biden praised the steady flow of US aid to Ukraine as the war rages on.

"Guns and ammunition arrive daily, and we're seeing how vital our alliances and partnerships are around the world," Biden told Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, chiefs of Joint Chiefs of Staff and US Combat Commanders in a meeting in the Cabinet Room.

Biden said the US force posture has to be "dynamic" as the strategic environment abroad is "rapidly evolving."

"We see this very day the need for adaptation as we stand with Ukraine against Putin's brutal and unjustified war. And I want to applaud the exceptional work they are doing to arm and equip brave Ukrainians to defend their nation," said.

US WeaponsWar in UkraineJoe Biden