President Biden expected to announce military help for Ukraine after meeting with Zelenskyy
President Biden set to announce new military – After meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart at the G7 conference in Japan this weekend, President Joe Biden is expected to announce a fresh $375 million military aid package for Ukraine, according to three officials from the United States and Ukraine who are aware with the discussions. The announcement is expected to take place on Monday. The shipment will consist of additional artillery shells, armored vehicles, and anti-tank weapons.
This is all material that the United States and its allies have previously sent to Kyiv, but it will be of critical importance during the months of intense warfare that are anticipated to take place this spring and summer. In order for the authorities to speak freely about the conversations prior to an announcement, anonymity was offered to them. The news comes at the same time as the president of the United States gave hints that he would give the go-ahead for the delivery of American F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine via a third party.
He told his G7 colleagues that he will support a combined international effort to train Ukrainian pilots on the aircraft. The news comes at the same time as these hints. Taken together, these actions constitute a significant demonstration of support for the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in advance of an anticipated counteroffensive.
The Ukrainian people have high hopes that this offensive will allow them to reclaim additional territory that Russia has occupied. In recent weeks, Moscow has been attacking Ukraine with a barrage of missiles, but Kyiv’s freshly acquired Western air defenses, such as the Patriot missile system, have been able to successfully thwart the attacks. Countries that have flown the F-16 for decades, such as Belgium, Denmark, and The Netherlands, have stated that they will engage in the training program.
Norway is reportedly contemplating offering a hand, and the United Kingdom has also expressed interest in participating. All of the NATO nations are currently in the midst of making the switch to the F-35, and in the meantime, they have been selling their older F-16s to third countries like Romania, which are eager to make the jump from their aircraft that date back to the Soviet era.
To this far, not a single nation, including the United States, has committed to providing Ukraine with any F-16 fighter jets. Zelenskyy, who had just returned from a tour of European capitals this week, which included a surprise visit to Saudi Arabia to drum up support for his country’s war effort, has used the extended trip to put on a very public show of stability and calm as the war grinds on, with its front lines largely stable and his troops preparing to launch new assaults on entrenched Russian positions.
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