Biden pledges $8 billion for Ukraine ahead of Zelensky meeting

President Biden on Thursday announced an estimated $8 billion in aid for Ukraine, drawing down billions of dollars in military stockpiles from the Pentagon that were at risk of expiring Sept. 30, providing an additional Patriot air defense battery and expanding training for F-16 pilots. 

The announcement comes ahead of a Thursday meeting between Biden and Vice President Harris and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington. The Ukrainian president, following participation at the United Nations General Assembly, is expected to present his “victory plan” to Biden and Harris on how his nation can overcome Russia’s nearly three-year, full-scale military assault.

“I am proud to welcome President Zelenskyy back to the White House today. For nearly three years, the United States has rallied the world to stand with the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom from Russian aggression, and it has been a top priority of my Administration to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to prevail,” Biden said in a statement.

The president was forced to announce a multi-billion dollar aid package after Congress failed to include a request from the administration to extend the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) for Ukraine in the stopgap funding bill that passed on Wednesday night, putting the White House in a position of having to allocate $5.5 billion in military assistance that was set to expire at the end of the fiscal year. 

The failure of Congress to extend the PDA is one symptom of Washington’s dysfunction and increased Republican opposition over allocating aid for Ukraine.

Biden also announced that the Pentagon is providing $2.4 billion in security assistance through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, with the funds going toward additional air defense and unmanned aerial systems as well as air-to-ground munitions. They will also be used to strengthen Ukraine’s defense industrial base and support its maintenance and sustainment requirements.  

But the increased partisan attitudes around U.S. support for Ukraine has put the issue on the agenda for the November elections, with Zelensky becoming increasingly outspoken against former President Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), over concerns that a Republican administration would force Kyiv to concede to Russian aggression. 

Zelensky, in an interview with The New Yorker magazine, called Vance “too radical” and expressed doubt that Trump knew how to end the war in Ukraine. 

Trump lashed out at Zelensky during a campaign event earlier this week in North Carolina, saying the wartime leader was “making nasty little aspersions” toward him. 

And Trump’s backers in the House are coming to the GOP presidential nominee’s defense. 

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La), who bucked opponents in his party to pass aid for Ukraine in April, on Wednesday called for the firing of Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. and lashed out at Zelensky for what he described as “election interference” following the Ukrainian president’s trip to a factory in Pennsylvania making arms for Kyiv alongside the state’s Democratic governor. Zelensky made a similar trip to Utah alongside the Republican governor in July. 

And House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) on Wednesday morning launched an inquiry into Zelensky’s trip to Pennsylvania, suggesting it amounted to a campaign stop for Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.