President Joe Biden is issuing an apology to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a delay in aid — and blaming Republicans for it.
Speaking to Zelenskyy in front of reporters in Paris, France, Biden said, “You continue to fight in a way that is just remarkable. Just remarkable. And we’re not going to walk away from you.”
“I apologize for the weeks of not knowing what was going to happen in terms of funding… Some of our very conservative members were holding it up,” he continued. “But we got it done finally.”
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A stand-off between the White House and conservative members of the House led to a months-long delay in Ukraine aid.
Republicans initially sought to link aid to Ukraine with new border security measures. However, that deal fell apart after former President Donald Trump came out in opposition to it.
Despite a threat to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) leadership, in April, he held a vote on aid for Ukraine and Taiwan without border security measures.
In May, Russia launched a new offensive in Ukraine as it sought to take advantage of the delays in aid. NBC News notes, the offensive set off “fears that even the country’s second-largest city could fall into Moscow’s hands.”
However, it added, “Russian President Vladimir Putin said… his goal was to carve out a buffer zone around Russia’s own under-fire border regions, rather than to seize Kharkiv itself.”
Amid concerns about Russia’s latest push, several European nations and the United States have allowed Ukraine to use Western weapons to strike targets inside of Russia.
Politico reports, “Ukraine can now use American-provided weapons, such as rockets and rocket launchers, to shoot down launched Russian missiles heading toward Kharkiv, at troops massing just over the Russian border near the city, or Russian bombers launching bombs toward Ukrainian territory.”
However, the U.S. has still restricted Ukraine from using such weapons to strike civilian infrastructure or targets deeper in Russian territory.
