Biden Signs Funding Bill to Provide $800 Million in Ukraine Aid

Biden signs a massive funding bill that will provide $800 million in security aid to Ukraine.

President Joe Biden accused Russia of committing “atrocities” in Ukraine and commended the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, for a speech to Congress earlier Wednesday that Biden said was “convincing.”

Biden said the U.S. would send drones as part of its military assistance to Ukraine and that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces were attacking civilian areas, contrary to the Kremlin’s denials. A theater sheltering hundreds of civilians in Mariupol was bombed by Russian forces on Wednesday, according to the city council there.

“Putin is afflicting appalling, appalling devastation and horror on Ukraine,” Biden said Wednesday at the White House. “It’s god awful.”

Biden said fresh U.S. aid would include assistance obtaining a longer-range anti-aircraft system. Other fresh supplies will include 800 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, 9,000 anti-tank missiles and 7,000 small arms along with 20 million rounds of ammunition, according to a White House statement.

Together with the drones, Biden said the package demonstrates the U.S. “commitment to sending our most cutting-edge systems to Ukraine for its defense.”

He didn’t take questions and did not specify whether the drones would be armed. White House spokespeople did not immediately respond to questions. The White House statement said the aid would include “100 tactical unmanned aerial systems.”

Earlier Wednesday in a speech to Congress, Zelenskiy urged the U.S. to close its ports to all Russian goods and providing Ukraine with fighter jets, something the Biden administration has not yet been willing to facilitate. After showing lawmakers a graphic video of Ukrainian casualties in the war, including children, Zelenskiy addressed Biden directly in English: “Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.”

The White House is touting $1 billion in security assistance the U.S. has authorized for Ukraine in the past week, bringing the total for the last year to $2 billion. Officials note that the U.S. is the largest single donor of such aid to Ukraine.

Biden on Tuesday signed a $1.5 trillion government funding bill, and on Wednesday authorized spending $800 million on security assistance. On Saturday, he signed off an additional $200 million for arms and equipment as part of a stopgap spending bill.

Still, the assistance falls short of Zelenskiy’s biggest requests -- a no-fly zone over Ukraine or the transfer of fighter jets from NATO countries -- neither of which the White House has agreed to.

Zelenskiy on Wednesday urged lawmakers to remember the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York and Washington as it weighs more aid.

“Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people,” Zelenskiy said following a standing ovation from lawmakers.

The Ukrainian leader, who at first spoke through an interpreter and then later switched to English, continued his calls for a no-fly zone over his country but added, “If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative,” stressing that the country needs more air defense systems like the S-300.

The previous U.S. assistance included about 600 Stinger antiaircraft systems, 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems, an undisclosed number of helicopters and patrol boats, 200 machine guns, 200 grenade launchers, and 40 million rounds of small-arms ammunition, Biden officials said.