Biden pledges new $225 mn Ukraine aid on D-Day anniversary

US President Joe Biden announced on 7 June a new military package worth $225 million during the meeting between the Ukrainian President and the US President in Paris. The Associated Press reported earlier on 7 June that US officials said on 6 June the United States would send about $225 million in military aid to Ukraine. According to an AP report, the package includes ammunition that Ukraine’s Armed Forces could use "to strike threats inside Russia to defend the city of Kharkiv from a heavy Russian assault," according to the officials. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss aid not yet publicly announced, said the aid includes munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), mortar systems, and an array of artillery rounds. The AP reported that Ukraine could use such weapons to strike across the border into Russia if forces there are attacking or preparing to attack. However, the officials noted that this change "does not alter US policy that directs Ukraine not to use American-provided ATACMS or long-range missiles and other munitions to strike offensively inside Russia." The new aid package comes as President Joe Biden, in his speech on 6 June at the American cemetery in Normandy on the 80th anniversary of D-Day, vowed that the US "will not walk away" from the defense of Ukraine and allow Russia to threaten more of Europe. "To do so," Biden said, "would mean the US has forgotten 'what happened here on these hallowed beaches.'"

"We will not leave because if we do, Ukraine will be conquered, and it will not end there. Their neighbors will be at risk, and Europe will be too. Surrendering to hooligans, bowing to dictators is simply unthinkable," he said during the ceremony in Normandy.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also in Normandy, participating in official events. According to the AP, Zelenskyy was expected to meet with US President Biden and French President Macron in Paris on 7 June. Read also:

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