Biden will announce $800 million in security assistance for Ukraine, official says

The package of military assistance will include anti-tank missiles and more of the defensive weapons that the US has already been providing, including Javelin anti-tank and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, officials familiar with the plans said. The assistance, however, will stop short of the no-fly zone or fighter jets that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said are necessary to sustain Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

News of the additional assistance, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, comes as the White House continues to face intense pressure from Congress and Zelensky to find new ways to aid Ukraine. The Ukrainian President, who remains in his country, addressed US members of Congress remotely Wednesday and renewed his calls for more assistance.

Officials have declined to confirm whether armed drones will be included in Biden’s remarks or whether a decision was finalized.

The Biden administration will look to get these hundreds of millions in new aid to Ukraine as quickly as possible, with the President noting Tuesday that it is becoming “exceedingly difficult” to get new supplies into Ukraine, though they are still able to do so.

The Biden administration is also continuing to develop sanctions targeting top Russian officials and those in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, with plans to ramp up the number of targets in the coming days and weeks, according to multiple US officials.

The process has been ongoing, and has taken into account specific suggestions of targets provided by top Ukrainian officials, including Zelensky, the officials said. In a call with Biden last week, Zelensky laid out a more specific range of targets for individual sanctions, one of the officials said. The administration is currently working to address those requested targets.

in his virtual remarks to Congress, Zelensky went further when he requested the US impose sanctions on all Russian politicians who continue to support the government. While some Zelensky requests, including the implementation of a no-fly zone, remain off the table for Biden, the sanctions are viewed by the administration as a tool they can readily deploy.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. has slapped sanctions on dozens of top Russian officials and oligarchs, as well as their family members. Biden also signed off on targeting Putin directly with individual sanctions, in coordination with the European Union and United Kingdom.

“Some states of (the) alliance have intimidated themselves, saying that they can’t answer. That they cannot collide with Russian missiles and planes in the Ukrainian sky. Because this, they say, will lead to escalation, will lead to the third world war. … And what will they say if Russia goes further to Europe, attacking other countries? I am sure the same thing they say to Ukraine,” he said. “Article 5 of the NATO treaty has never been as weak as it is now. This is just our opinion.”