The president of the United States, Joe Biden, observes the Javelin missile assembly process at the Lockheed Martin plant in Troy, Alabama. Evan Vucci (AP)
Joe Biden has staged this Tuesday the US military support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion.
For this purpose, he has chosen the Lockheed Martin factory where Javelin portable missile launchers are manufactured, one of the most effective weapons of the Ukrainian resistance against the aggression of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During his visit to Troy, Alabama, Biden has urged Congress to approve new military aid to Ukraine.
The US president has praised the power of the US war industry in general and the effectiveness of Javelin missiles in particular.
According to Biden, many Ukrainians are naming their newborn children Javelin or Javelina in gratitude for the effectiveness of these missiles.
The Ukrainians "are driving Russian enemies crazy" with these weapons, the president added.
"We need more money to ensure that the United States can continue to send weapons directly to the front lines in Ukraine," Biden said during his visit to the factory.
He has also praised anti-tank systems as "some of the best and most effective weapons" in the US arsenal.
The president has accused Russia of committing atrocities and "a bunch of war crimes."
“If you don't stand up to the dictators, they keep coming,” he has commented.
For this reason, he considers that the new aid package for Ukraine should be approved as soon as possible.
Biden asked Congress last Thursday for an additional 33,000 million dollars (about 31,000 million euros) in economic, military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine for the country's defense against Russian aggression.
The bulk of that aid consists of more than 20,000 million dollars for military and security assistance with which to maintain the flow of weapons and ammunition at the disposal of the Government of Volodímir Zelenski.
That figure includes 11.4 billion to buy and replace material already shipped;
$2.6 billion to support the deployment of US troops and equipment to the region;
and 1,900 to strengthen cybersecurity and provide intelligence support.
The White House considers that the visit serves to show the American production of war material and thus show that the United States is determined to help Ukraine, but does not believe that this act in itself contributes to escalating the conflict.
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The war in Ukraine, live
The United States and its European allies are sending increasingly abundant and sophisticated military hardware to Ukraine to counter Putin's aggression.
In addition, they are providing training and education to the Ukrainian army.
The Pentagon's goal is no longer just for Ukraine to be able to resist the Russian attack as well as possible, but also to hit and weaken Putin's Army, dissuading similar adventures in the future.
The Russian government has resorted to nuclear rhetoric and the conflict has entered a spiral of unpredictable consequences.
Military support for Ukraine is essential for the United States in that scenario.
And the Troy factory, one of the three from which the Javelin systems come out, has been seen by Biden as an ideal place to show it, since it has been used very effectively by Ukrainian soldiers in their defense against the Russian invasion.
In fact, Pentagon and NATO sources consider that these missiles were decisive in preventing a quick Russian victory in the first days of the war and that they remain very important in countering the Russian offensive.
Archive image of a member of the Ukrainian resistance learning to use a Javelin missile in kyiv, last March. Roman Pilipey (EFE)
The Javelin is a lightweight and easy-to-use portable anti-tank missile launcher that can be shouldered by a soldier.
It has a range of about four kilometers.
According to the manufacturer's description, the missile automatically guides itself to the target after launch, allowing the gunner to take cover and avoid counterfire.
Also, it can be fired safely from inside buildings or bunkers.
annexation of territories
In parallel, the United States believes that Russia is preparing the annexation of large areas of Ukraine, according to official sources.
Intelligence reports that the Biden Administration considers highly credible suggest that Russia plans to carry out fraudulent referendums in places like Donetsk, Lugansk or Kherson, in which the result would be support for joining Russia, to give an appearance of legitimacy to those annexations.
Zelensky had already publicly denounced Russia's alleged intention to manipulate consultations for the annexation of important areas in the east of the country.
US intelligence has scored numerous hits when it comes to anticipating Putin's moves.
Russia has already recognized Donetsk and Luhansk as independent regions of Ukraine, but the goal now would be to incorporate them directly into Russia.
However, in the areas of eastern Ukraine that Moscow intends to annex, there is still Ukrainian military resistance to the invasion.
That is a big difference from what happened with the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
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