{"id":28180,"date":"2024-06-07T10:58:45","date_gmt":"2024-06-07T15:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=28180"},"modified":"2024-06-07T10:58:52","modified_gmt":"2024-06-07T15:58:52","slug":"biden-apologizes-to-zelenskyy-for-monthslong-congressional-holdup-to-weapons-that-let-russia-advance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=28180","title":{"rendered":"Biden apologizes to Zelenskyy for monthslong congressional holdup to weapons that let Russia advance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PARIS (AP) \u2014 U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday for the first time publicly apologized to Ukraine for a monthslong congressional holdup in American military assistance that let Russia make gains on the battlefield<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden met in Paris with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who appealed for bipartisan U.S. support going forward \u201clike it was during World War II.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A day earlier, the two had attended ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings<\/u><\/a> in Normandy, where Biden had drawn common cause between the allied forces that helped free Europe from Nazi Germany and today\u2019s effort to support Ukraine against Russia\u2019s invasion and Zelenskyy had been greeted with a rapt ovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI apologize for those weeks of not knowing what\u2019s going to happen in terms of funding,\u201d Biden said, referring to the six-month holdup by conservative Republicans in Congress to a $61 billion military aid package<\/u><\/a> for Ukraine. Still, the Democratic president insisted that the American people were standing by Ukraine for the long haul. \u201cWe\u2019re still in. Completely. Thoroughly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The apology \u2014 and Zelenskyy\u2019s plea for rock-solid support akin to the allied coalition in WWII \u2014 served as a reminder that for all of Biden\u2019s talk of an unflagging U.S commitment to Ukraine, recalcitrance among congressional Republicans and an isolationist strain in American politics have exposed its fragility. And, although unremarked upon, the specter of Donald Trump\u2019s candidacy loomed over the discussion, as the Republican former president and the presumptive nominee has spoken positively of Russian President Vladimir Putin and sparked Ukrainian concerns that he would call for it to cede territory to end the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zelenskyy pressed for all Americans to support his country\u2019s defense against Russia\u2019s invasion, and he thanked lawmakers for eventually coming together to approve the weapons package, which has allowed Ukraine to stem Russian advances in recent weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>\u201cIt\u2019s very important that in this unity, United States of America, all American people stay with Ukraine like it was during World War II,\u201d Zelenskyy said. \u201cHow the United States helped to save human lives, to save Europe. And we count on your continuing support in standing with us shoulder to shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States is by far Kyiv\u2019s biggest supplier of wartime support, and Ukraine is trying to fend off an intense Russian offensive<\/u><\/a> in eastern areas of the country. The push is focused on the Ukrainian border regions of Kharkiv and Donetsk, but Ukrainian officials say it could spread as Russia\u2019s bigger army seeks to make its advantage tell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The offensive is seeking to exploit Kyiv\u2019s shortages of ammunition and troops along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The slow pace of delivery of pledged Western weaponry has long frustrated Zelenskyy, as has Biden\u2019s hesitation over supplying more hardware for fear of provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin. That has caused tension in their relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. will send about $225 million in military aid<\/u><\/a> to Ukraine, Biden announced Friday. The latest package includes munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, as well as mortar systems and an array of artillery rounds, U.S. officials said Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Ukrainian strike on its partially-occupied Luhansk region using U.S.-made ATACMS missiles killed three people and injured 35 others Friday, local Moscow-appointed authorities said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Biden cast the additional aid in his meeting with Zelenskyy as money to \u201creconstruct the electric grid\u201d in Ukraine, a reference aides said was to additional air defense and missile defense systems in the new package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easing their stance amid Russia\u2019s most recent onslaught and with Ukraine\u2019s army reeling, some NATO allies including the U.S. said last week they would allow Ukraine to use weapons they deliver to Kyiv to carry out limited attacks inside Russia<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That step brought a furious response from the Kremlin, which warned that Europe\u2019s biggest conflict since World War II could spin out of control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden and Zelenskyy attended the anniversary events<\/u><\/a> of D-Day in Normandy, northern France, on Thursday, along with European leaders who have supported Kyiv\u2019s efforts in the war. Biden pledged<\/u><\/a> \u201cwe will not walk away\u201d from Ukraine, drawing a direct line from the fight to liberate Europe from Nazi domination to today\u2019s war against Russian aggression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine depicts its fight against the Kremlin\u2019s forces as a clash between Western democratic freedom and Russian tyranny. Russia says it is defending itself against a menacing eastward expansion of the NATO military alliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a 20-minute speech Friday at the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament, Zelenskyy drew a parallel with the sacrifices made during World War II and his country\u2019s current fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis battle is a crossroads,\u201d Zelenskyy said. \u201cA moment where we can now write history the way we need it. Or we can become victims of history as it suits \u2026 our enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zelenskyy, who spoke in Ukrainian, was frequently interrupted by lawmakers\u2019 applause and cheers. He prompted a standing ovation when he said in French: \u201cDear France, I thank you for standing by our side as we defend life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, announced late Thursday that France will provide Ukraine with its Mirage combat aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macron has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine. He said in February that putting Western troops on the ground in Ukraine is not \u201cruled out.\u201d<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zelenskyy began a day of meetings in Paris with an official welcome ceremony at the golden-domed Invalides monument, site of Napoleon\u2019s tomb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the day, Zelenskyy skipped a scheduled visit to the Nexter arms manufacturer in Versailles, which makes the Caesar self-propelled howitzers that are among the weapons provided by France to Kyiv\u2019s forces. He went instead to France\u2019s military headquarters with defense manufacturers, and his delegation signed defense agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was also to meet with Macron at the \u00c9lys\u00e9e Palace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zelenskyy\u2019s foreign trips aim to keep Ukraine\u2019s plight in the public eye, secure more military help for its fight against Russia\u2019s invasion and lock in long-term Western support through bilateral alliances<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

France and Ukraine in February signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement<\/u><\/a>. Zelenskyy has since signed similar bilateral agreements with many European countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

apnews<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PARIS (AP) \u2014 U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday for the first time publicly apologized to Ukraine for a monthslong congressional holdup in American military assistance that let Russia make gains on the battlefield. Biden met in Paris with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who appealed for bipartisan U.S. support going forward \u201clike it was during World […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":28181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1154],"tags":[28896,1169,1826],"class_list":["post-28180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending","tag-apologize","tag-biden","tag-zelensky"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28180"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28182,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28180\/revisions\/28182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}