Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his country’s gratitude for the “unwavering support” of 81-year-old Democrat Joe Biden after the latter announced he was withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race but would remain in office for the remainder of his term.
The future of US financial and military support for the Ukraine war is uncertain after President Biden’s approval ratings plummeted, the public began to question his mental decline and he decided to withdraw from the campaign trail.
President Zelenskyy’s government and military rely heavily on Biden’s support and he thanked the outgoing president for his assistance.
Zelensky said in a statement posted on X: I have written“Ukraine is grateful for President Biden’s unwavering support of Ukraine’s fight for freedom, which, combined with strong bipartisan support from the United States, has been and will continue to be crucial.”
“While many strong decisions have been made in recent years, they will be remembered as bold steps taken by President Biden in response to challenging circumstances, and we respect the tough but strong decision made today.”
“We will always be grateful to President Biden for his leadership. He supported our country at one of the most dramatic moments in our history, helped stop Putin from taking over our country, and has continued to support us throughout this terrible war.”
“The current situation in Ukraine and across Europe is similarly difficult, and we sincerely hope that America’s continued strong leadership will prevent Russian evil from succeeding or aggression from being rewarded.”
Ukraine is grateful for President Biden’s unwavering support of Ukraine’s fight for freedom, which, combined with strong bipartisan support from the United States, has been and will continue to be crucial.
Many strong decisions have been made in recent years, but they are…
— Volodymyr Zelensky / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 21, 2024
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has provided nearly $175 billion in aid and military assistance to support the Ukrainian government and its allies. according to To the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
While Ukrainian forces have achieved some early successes on the battlefield, President Zelenskiy’s much-touted “spring counteroffensive” last year failed to penetrate Russian lines, effectively giving Russia control of about a fifth of its territory.
Despite the failure of the counterattack, widespread reports of corruption within the Kiev government and military, and a huge disparity in the numbers of young people available to them compared to their much larger enemy, the Biden administration has decided to double aid this year.
In April, Congress passed a supplemental security package for Israel, the Indo-Pacific and Ukraine, allocating 64 percent of the funds, or $61.7 billion, to Kyiv.
The Biden administration signed a 10-year security agreement with Ukraine in June, pledging to prop up the Kyiv government with U.S. taxpayer money for the next decade. The deal also saw G7 nations back a plan to use seized Russian assets to repay interest on $50 billion in loans Ukraine has taken out.
But it’s unclear whether the Trump administration will try to scrap the 10-year security pact or continue to send the remainder of the unspent $175 billion in aid. Trump has vowed to end the war quickly, and many observers speculate that could include threatening to cut off U.S. aid to pressure Zelenskiy into peace talks.
Zelensky and Trump spoke by phone last week about the future of the conflict, with the Republican candidate saying after the call that “the two sides can work together to negotiate an agreement that ends the violence and paves the way for prosperity.”
Donald Trump meets with Zelensky, vows to end Russia’s war in Ukrainehttps://t.co/C8MpoYugDo
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 20, 2024
