War in Ukraine: Biden assured Zelensky of his “confidence” in the continuation of American military assistance

“I spoke to Zelensky this afternoon to let him know that I am confident that we will get this money,” Joe Biden told reporters as the Ukrainian president delivered an address in Munich calling on the West to supply more weapons after Russia announced “the full range of weapons.” control” of the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdeevka.

If the leader was stunned by the forced withdrawal of the army from the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka announced the day before, he showed nothing during his speech on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. But his message is clear: “Our actions are limited only by the number and scale of our forces – which are beyond our control,” he told officials gathered for this towering mass of global diplomacy as Ukraine comes into its own. third year of the war.

“We can take back our land. And Putin may lose. This has happened more than once on the battlefield,” he said. However, he expressed regret that Ukraine “maintains an artificial shortage of weapons, in particular artillery and long-range weapons.” This shortcoming “allows Putin to adapt to the current intensity of the war.” Kyiv has been asking its allies for months to provide longer-range weapons capable of hitting Russian forces more deeply.

“Political Games”

But in the US, the situation remains blocked: Kyiv has been hoping for months for a vote on a crucial bailout of about $60 billion, which was decided by the government of Joe Biden and which was blocked by the Republican opposition under the influence of Donald Trump. Vladimir Zelensky said on Saturday that he discussed the situation at the front with Joe Biden by phone, and said that he believes, together with the American president, in the “wise decision” of the American Congress. “I am glad that I can count on the full support of the American president. We also believe in the wise decision of the US Congress,” he wrote in a Telegram message.

The United States must deliver to Ukraine “what it promised,” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg demanded. If European and Canadian efforts are welcomed, “the most important decision will be for the United States to agree on an aid package given the size and military capabilities” of the alliance’s anchor country, he insisted.

American Vice President Kamala Harris tried to reassure Vladimir Zelensky during an interview in Munich, where she had already met with him two years ago, “five days before the Russian invasion,” she said, she recalled. As for aid to Ukraine, “there is bipartisan support. (…) We are unshakable. And it has nothing to do with the election cycle,” said Kamala Harris, warning against “political games” in the midst of campaigning for November’s US presidential election. The Ukrainian president called the expected American assistance “vitally important.”