A contrite President Joe Biden publicly apologized for the first time Friday to Ukraine for delays in American military assistance as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed for yet more and more U.S. support “like it was during World War II.”
The two were speaking in Paris where they both attended ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Biden apologized to the Ukrainian people for the weeks of not knowing if more assistance would come while conservative Republicans in Congress held up a $61 billion military aid package for Ukraine for six months as they sought more measures to protect the porous U.S.-Mexico border, as Breitbart News reported.
A delighted President of the French National Assembly, Yael Braun-Pivet greets an equally enthused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Friday, June 7, 2024 in Paris. At right is First Vice-President of the French National Assembly, Valerie Rabault (Julien de Rosa/Pool via AP)
The president took the opportunity to say the U.S. is all in with Ukraine, insisting the American people were standing by Ukraine for the long haul. “We’re still in. Completely. Thoroughly,” Biden said.
AP reports Zelensky pressed for all Americans to support his country’s defense against Russia’s invasion, and he thanked lawmakers for eventually coming together to approve the weapons package.
“It’s very important that in this unity, United States of America, all American people stay with Ukraine like it was during World War II,” Zelensky said. “How 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.”
The U.S. will send about $225 million in military aid to Ukraine, U.S. officials flagged Thursday.
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, officials said.
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