Biden Yells at Press to 'Hush Up a Second,' Tells Zelenskyy He's Got $200 Million More for Ukraine
After scolding the media into silence, President Joe Biden revealed Tuesday that the United States is shipping another $200 million in military aid to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a trip to Washington on Tuesday in an attempt to convince a reluctant Congress to continue aid that Zelenskyy said is critical to help Ukraine stave off Russian invaders.
Biden announced the aid during an Oval Office photo op with Zelenskyy.
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Hush up a second, OK?” Biden exclaimed in a video of the photo op after Zelenskyy finished reading from a prepared statement.
“I got one more thing to say. I’ve just signed another $200 million drawdown from the Department of Defense for Ukraine, and that’ll be coming quickly.”
The announcement prompted a flurry of questions from the media.
Biden said nothing but cracked a grin and laughed until the media was ushered out of the photo op.
According to Fox News, the hardware heading to Ukraine includes ammunition for “the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, high-speed anti-radiation missiles, anti-armor systems, artillery rounds, missiles, demolition munitions, 4 million rounds of small arms ammunition, generators and other equipment and spare parts,” an unnamed official said.
Biden has proposed a $110 billion aid package that includes more than $50 billion in aid for Ukraine. The package is stalled in Congress, where Republicans, with the support of some Democrats, are calling for policy changes to reduce the flood of illegal immigrants swamping the southern border as a precondition for any approval of aid to Ukraine.
At a news conference Tuesday, Biden castigated that concept.
“Holding Ukraine funding hostage in an attempt to force through an extreme, Republican, partisan agenda is not how it works,” he said, according to The New York Times. “We need real solutions.”
He also sought to portray Republican opposition to his proposal as support for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, saying, “Putin is banking on the United States failing to deliver for Ukraine.”
During the news conference, Zelenskyy said Russia has “failed thus far in wiping Ukraine from the map” and indicated he is aware Ukraine must demonstrate battlefield success.
He said talks with Republican leaders in Congress “were more than positive, but we know we need to separate words from results.”
Asked if Ukraine would give up territory in a compromise to end the war, Zelenskyy replied, “That is insane, to be honest.”
As the news conference took place, Senate negotiators were trying to find a way forward on the aid package Biden has proposed.
“We made substantive progress,” said Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who was elected as a Democrat but is now an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
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