PARIS (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday publicly apologized for the first time for allowing Russia to hold up military aid to Ukraine for several months. Battlefield Gains.
Biden’s apology came during a meeting in Paris with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who called for bipartisan US support going forward “as in World War II.”
The day before, the two Normandy Landings 80th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony In Normandy, Zelenskiy was greeted with rapturous applause as Biden drew a common purpose between the Allied forces that helped liberate Europe from Nazi Germany and today’s efforts to help Ukraine counter Russian aggression.
“I apologize for the few weeks we had where we didn’t know what was going to happen in terms of funding,” Biden said, referring to conservative Republicans in Congress delaying his $61 billion spending proposal for six months. Military Aid Package For Ukraine. But the Democratic president insisted that Americans support Ukraine for the long term. “We’re still in it. Totally, totally,” he said.
Associated Press Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports that President Biden apologized to the Ukrainian president for months of delays in delivering military aid to his country’s fighters.
Zelensky’s apology and plea for robust support like that of a World War II ally were reminders that Republican stubbornness and the isolationist tendencies of American politics expose their weaknesses, even as Biden speaks of unwavering U.S. commitment to Ukraine. And while not mentioned, the specter of former Republican president and presumptive presidential candidate Donald Trump loomed over the discussion, with his favorable assessment of Russian President Vladimir Putin and raising concerns in Ukraine that he might seek to cede territory to end the conflict.
Zelensky urged Americans to support his country’s defense against Russian aggression and thanked lawmakers for coming together to finally approve the arms package that allowed Ukraine to stave off Russian aggression in recent weeks.
“In this unity of the United States of America, it is very important that all Americans stand with Ukraine as they did in World War II,” Zelensky said. “How America saved lives, how it saved Europe. We count on you to continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with us.”
The United States is Kiev’s largest supplier of wartime aid, and Ukraine is trying to fend off an onslaught of criticism. Russian offensive Russian forces are fighting in the east of the country, focused on the Ukrainian border towns of Kharkiv and Donetsk but which Ukrainian officials say could expand as Russian forces grow larger and seek to gain the upper hand.
The offensive aims to exploit Kiev’s shortages of ammunition and troops along a roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front.
The slow pace of deliveries of promised Western weapons has long frustrated Zelenskiy, as has Biden’s reluctance to provide more weapons for fear of provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin, causing tensions in ties.
The United States contributed approximately $225 million Military aid President Biden on Friday announced an expansion of the U.S. military’s missile defense system (MDS) to Ukraine, and U.S. officials said Thursday that the latest aid package includes ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), as well as mortar systems and various artillery shells.
During his meeting with Zelensky, Biden described the additional aid as money to “rebuild” Ukraine’s power grid, but aides said he was referring to additional air and missile defense systems included in the new aid package.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky listens to the Ukrainian national anthem at the Les Invalides memorial during a military honors ceremony in Paris, Friday, June 7, 2024. (Samir Al-Doumi via The Associated Press)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (third from left), French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu (second from left) and Paris military governor and army corps general Christophe Abad attend a military honors ceremony in Paris, Friday, June 7, 2024. (Samir Al Doumi, Pool via The Associated Press)
Softening their stance following Russia’s latest onslaught and Ukrainian military disarray, some NATO allies, including the United States, said last week they would allow Ukraine to use weapons handed over to Kiev. Carry out limited attacks within Russia.
The move sparked a strong reaction from the Kremlin, which warned that Europe’s biggest conflict since World War Two could spiral out of control.
Biden and Zelensky in attendance Commemorative Event On Thursday, Kiev attended a ceremony marking the anniversary of the Normandy landings and met with European leaders who had supported Kiev’s war effort. Biden promised “We are not leaving Ukraine,” he said, drawing a straight line from the fight to liberate Europe from Nazi rule to today’s war against Russian aggression.
Ukraine portrays its fight against the Kremlin’s forces as a clash between Western democratic freedoms and Russian autocracy. Russia says it is defending itself against a threatening expansion of the NATO military alliance eastward.
In a 20-minute speech on Friday to the National Assembly, the lower house of France’s parliament, Zelenskiy compared sacrifices made during World War II to France’s current struggle.
“This fight is at a crossroads,” Zelenskiy said. “Now is the time to write history the way we want it to be, or we can conveniently become history’s victims … our enemies.”
Zelenskiy spoke in Ukrainian but was frequently interrupted by applause and cheers from lawmakers. “Dear France, thank you for being by our side in defending lives,” he said in French, drawing a standing ovation.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron announced late Thursday that France would provide Mirage fighter jets to Ukraine.
Macron has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine, and in February said he would not allow Western troops to be sent to Ukraine. Not “exclusion.”
Zelensky began the day-long talks in Paris with an official welcoming ceremony at the gold-domed Les Invalides monument, home to Napoleon’s tomb.
During the day, Zelenskyy was scheduled to visit the Nextar arms manufacturing company in Versailles, which makes Caesar self-propelled howitzers, one of the weapons France is providing to Kiev’s army.
He was also due to meet with President Macron at the Elysee Palace.
Zelensky’s trip was intended to draw public attention to Ukraine’s plight and secure further military support to combat Russian aggression; Bilateral Alliance.
France and Ukraine signed a 10-year agreement in February Bilateral Security AgreementPresident Zelenskyy subsequently signed similar bilateral agreements with a number of European countries.
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This story has been corrected to say that Biden and Zelensky served at the Normandy landings in Normandy, not in Paris.
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Barbara Sark in Nice and Hannah Arkhilova in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed.
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See Associated Press coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine here https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.
