Biden will place U.S. support for Ukraine front and center during Zelenskyy visit

President Joe Biden will unveil a wide-ranging humanitarian and military aid package for Ukraine on Wednesday, during a visit by that country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to the White House. The package features $60 million worth of newly designated military aid, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, small arms and ammunition. Biden informed Congress late last week of his intent to release the funds to help Ukraine defend its eastern border against Russian-backed separatists.

Another $45 million will be in the form of humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians impacted by the separatists’ guerrilla war, said a White House official who requested anonymity to preview the visit. In the fight against Covid-19, the U.S. will announce $12.8 million in additional assistance to Ukraine, on top of the $55 million in Covid-related aid the Biden administration has already provided, the official said.

Zelenskyy’s meeting with Biden comes as the White House confronts dueling crises at home and abroad. In Louisiana and Mississippi, more than a million utility customers still lacked electricity early Wednesday in the wake of Hurricane Ida.

Overseas, a humanitarian and border crisis looms as the Biden administration ramps up a mammoth effort to try to process and resettle tens of thousands of Afghan refugees airlifted out of the country as part of the U.S. military withdrawal.

Biden will place U.S. support for Ukraine front and center during Zelenskyy visit, CNBC, Sep 2