Russia-Ukraine war updates: Zelenskyy at White House for Biden meeting

Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington, DC, concludes with the announcement of a new security package from the White House, even as further aid from the US Congress is up in the air.

“Following President Biden’s announcement of a new security assistance package for Ukraine, pursuant to a delegation of authority from the President, I am authorising additional security assistance for Ukraine, which will provide $128m worth of US arms and equipment from Department of Defense stocks,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

“The Department of Defense will also be providing $197m in arms and equipment under previously directed drawdowns.”

As congressional Republicans in the US push for more accountability with Ukraine aid spending, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has highlighted the gains made in the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

“Ukraine has reclaimed more than half the territory Russia seized. New assistance approved today will help sustain Ukraine’s progress and build further momentum,” he posted on the social media platform X.

As the White House Cabinet meeting concluded, Biden reached across the table to shake Zelenskyy’s hand, while a reporter shouted a question from the sidelines about whether the US Congress would support his efforts to pass supplemental aid for Ukraine.

“I’m counting on the good judgment of the United States Congress. There’s no alternative. Thank you,” Biden responded, before turning back to the officials at the table and gesturing them to rise. “Alright, are we ready?”

As Ukrainian President Zelenskyy addressed the White House Cabinet, he focused his short remarks on expressing gratitude and solidarity with the American people.

“Thank you for all these 575 days,” Zelenskyy said, referencing the number of days since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“Thanks to the American people, all these days they are together with us, with Ukrainians, with ordinary people, all of us. Thank you so much.”

Biden also denounced any attempts by Russia to seek weapons from Iran or North Korea.

“Russia alone stands in the way of peace. It could end this today. Instead, Russia is seeking more weapons from Iran and North Korea that would violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions, that Moscow itself voted to put in place,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met earlier this month in a rare visit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, fuelling fears that a weapons transfer deal could be close at hand.

Biden reprised themes he touched upon at the UN General Debate earlier this week, reiterating his commitment to supporting Ukraine despite domestic opposition from Republicans.

“The entire world has a stake in making sure that no nation, no aggressor, is allowed to take a neighbour’s territory by force. The American people will never waver in their commitment to those values,” he said.

“That’s why, together with our allies and partners, we will continue to provide security assistance to support Ukraine’s progress in reclaiming its territory. And we will continue to provide humanitarian aid to help millions of innocents suffering from Russia’s aggression.”

He also highlighted reports of Ukrainian children being “kidnapped” to Russia: “What they’ve done to your children is just criminal.”

Despite Zelenskyy’s charm offensive in Washington, DC, on Thursday, the question of whether the US Congress will approve more aid to Ukraine remains murky, as Republicans on the far right express frustration with government spending.

“Yesterday at a classified briefing over Ukraine, it became clear that America is being asked to fund an indefinite conflict with unlimited resources,” Ohio Republican Senator JD Vance wrote on Twitter. “Enough is enough. To these and future requests, my colleagues and I say: NO.”

He included a letter protesting increased aid, signed by 28 Republicans.

One of those signatories, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, later wrote on social media he opposed “any effort to hold the federal government hostage for Ukraine funding”.

Hakeem Jeffries — the Democratic leader in the US House of Representatives — has reaffirmed his commitment to support Ukraine as it attempts to repel Russian forces, despite increasing Republican pressure in the chamber to forego funding for the war.

“This is a struggle between Ukraine and Russia,” he said in his weekly briefing.

“But it is also a struggle on the global stage between democracy and autocracy, between freedom and tyranny, between truth and propaganda, between good and evil. And it’s important for us to stand behind Ukraine until victory is won.”

As Zelenskyy and Biden meet at the White House, XEn News’s Kimberly Halkett warns a lot is riding on their joint speech later in the afternoon.

“The timing of this visit is not particularly good for the Ukrainian leader,” she said, explaining that the US is in the middle of intense negotiations over government spending.

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, hopes to secure $24bn in aid for his war-torn country as part of the US budget.

“The fact is that really a lot of lawmakers are focused on domestic priorities right now,” Halkett continued. “He is asking for funding sort of far away from the priorities of ordinary Americans is one problem.”

The other problem, she added, is “war fatigue” among the American public. “So as he sort of wraps up his day with the speech at the American archives, he’s really going to have to make the case that this [the Ukraine war] is a worthy cause.”

Biden told Ukraine’s leader at the White House that he would “ensure the world stands with you” against Russia’s invasion.

Zelenskyy told Biden in the Oval Office that the Ukrainian people “greatly appreciate the assistance provided by the United States to combat Russian terror”, AFP reported.

The Wall Street Journal’s White House correspondent, Ken Thomas, said the Ukrainian president was looking forward to discussing further aid in air defence.

Zelenskyy has shared a video of his meeting with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, General Mark Milley, chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other officials at the Pentagon earlier today.

“We discussed the deliveries of artillery systems and long-range capabilities, as well as strengthening air defense,” he said on X.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived at the White House for talks with President Joe Biden on continuing huge US funding for the Ukrainian war effort.

Zelenskyy was greeted by Biden and an honour guard outside the White House. He described the visit as “very important”.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told a briefing earlier that the US president would announce new air defence weapons for Ukraine but would not yet give Kyiv missiles for long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS).

The head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) has warned his soon-to-be-announced successor that bowing to pressure from some EU capitals to fund weapons for Ukraine would put the bank on the “wrong track”.

“If we use their [our partners’] money to buy ammunition, we’re on the wrong track,” Werner Hoyer told Reuters in an interview. “It will be controversial. I don’t envy my successor.”

Hoyer will step down from the EU’s powerful lending arm at the end of December after 12 years turning the EIB into one of the world’s largest providers of climate finance.

XEn News’s Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC, said the reception Zelenskyy has been met with has been “somewhat cooler than in recent visits”.

This is especially the case when it comes to “those on the conservative side of the political spectrum, specifically … the Republicans,” Halkett said.

“Many are concerned that the United States simply doesn’t have the money that it once did to continue to finance the Russian invasion … and Ukraine’s defence,” she added.

“As a result, they are now asking a number of questions about where the money has gone.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he does not agree with the negative approach other leaders are showing towards his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Turkish broadcasters quoted him as saying.

Erdogan said Russia was not a country that could be disregarded and repeated he was hopeful a solution could be found to revive the Black Sea grain initiative, which Moscow quit in July.

“Both leaders and prime ministers have negative approaches towards Putin. Of course, we don’t carry or reflect this stance. I also don’t find these approaches correct, because Russia is not a regular country,” Erdogan reportedly said.

“Be it with its surface area or its position in the world, Russia has a clear place. In terms of grain production, Russia is one of the few countries in the world now. Now, you cannot disregard a country like this,” he said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was hoping for continued backing from the United States, in a visit to Washington.

“To win, we must stand together. And win together. We count on you, on your constant support,” Zelenskyy said, according to a statement on the Ukrainian presidency’s website released after a meeting with top US officials.

US President Joe Biden will announce new air defence weapons for Ukraine during a visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Thursday but will not give Kyiv long-range ATACMS missiles yet, the White House said.

“President Biden will announce a new package of military assistance today including significant air defence capabilities to help Ukraine,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told a briefing.

The president of Serbia has accused the West of hypocrisy, saying its recognition of Kosovo’s independence was based on the same justification as Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic said Western nations cited the principles of sovereignty and human rights when approving Kosovo’s status as an independent nation.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 – nearly a decade after NATO helped push Serbian forces out of the former province during a bloody war that killed approximately 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians. The United States and most European Union nations recognised Kosovo.

Polish President Andrzej Duda has claimed that the prime minister’s comments on no longer arming Ukraine had been taken the wrong way.

PM Mateusz Morawiecki’s “words were interpreted in the worst way possible … In my opinion, the prime minister meant that we won’t be transferring to Ukraine the new weaponry that we’re currently buying as we modernise the Polish army,” Duda told TVN24 television.