US President Joe Biden has announced that the first US Abrams tanks allocated for Ukraine will arrive there next week.
Making the announcement on Thursday during a White House meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Biden said his administration would continue to support the war against Russia.
Biden said he had approved the next tranche of the military aid to Kiev, which included additional artillery and ammunition, launchers and interceptors, and more anti-tank weapons.
The president agreed to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine in January. Before that, the US military had argued that US tanks would be of little benefit to Ukraine.
In prepared remarks addressing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden said the American leadership’s support for Kiev is about “the future of freedom.”
“America can never, will never walk away from that,” he said. “That’s why 575 days later, we stand with Ukraine, and we’ll continue to stand with Mr. President.”
“Mr. President, we’re with you. And we’re staying with you,” he added.
Zelensky wins Biden support but faces US skeptics
Zelensky’s visit to Washington on Thursday came as the Biden administration sent Congress a supplemental funding request that includes another $24 billion in military, humanitarian, and financial assistance for Ukraine.
Americans have already provided tens of billions of dollars of weapons and munitions to Kiev with Biden making the argument that Russia’s protection of the pro-Moscow Russian-speaking people in Donbas is a threat to democracy globally, and Russian President Vladimir Putin would look to invade another country to stop NATO’s encroachment if it successfully takes Ukraine.
US Republicans have a different view about the ongoing proxy war against Russia, seeing Zelensky, a comedian-turned-politician, as lacking the military knowledge to bring victory for the senile Biden.
Republicans in Congress, as well as some leading presidential candidates, including former President Donald Trump, have pushed back on the continued supply of weapons and munitions to Ukraine.
Those skeptics of Zelensky’s chances of defeating Russia say it is not in the interest of the Americans to send tax-payers’ money to be burned by Kiev’s forces in its futile fight against the stronger Russian troops.
Republican lawmakers wrote to Biden ahead of Zelensky’s visit, voicing their opposition to continued spending on the supply of lethal arms to Kiev.
The US-led Western allies began flooding Kiev with weapons and ammunition shortly after Russia launched its “special military operation” in the country in February 2022.
Moscow has repeatedly warned world leaders against the continued supply of weapons and munitions to Ukraine, pointing out that such measures will not stop Russian troops from defending its objectives and that arming Kiev would only prolong the war.
The Biden administration has so far spent more than $100 billion on the war in Ukraine, according to the White House.
