Biden ‘confident’ to vote on $60 billion Ukraine war aid package

US President Joe Biden has assured the Ukrainian President that $60 billion in military aid is on the way.

The bill still needs to pass a final vote in Congress, but Biden told Volodymyr Zelensky he was confident it would be approved.

Mr Zelenskiy had earlier appealed urgently for more weapons to avoid a “catastrophic” situation in Europe.

The United States blames Ukraine’s withdrawal from the fighting in Avdiivka on a lack of support from Congress.

“As a result of Congressional inaction, Ukrainian forces were forced to withdraw from Avdiivka due to dwindling supplies that forced them to ration ammunition,” a White House statement said.

“Listen, the Ukrainian people have fought very bravely and heroically. They put so much into the front that they have this idea that when the ammunition runs out we will leave, but that is ridiculous. I think so,” he said. Biden told reporters after his call with Zelensky on Saturday.

“I think it’s unethical and I think it goes against everything we are as a country,” he added. “So I’m going to fight until they have the ammunition and self-defense capabilities they need.”

The Ukrainian president also urged U.S. lawmakers to approve fiscal policy.

“I am happy to count on the full support of the President of the United States,” he wrote on Telegram.

Zelenskiy was visiting Germany and made an urgent appeal for more weapons to avert a “catastrophic” situation in Europe.

“Maintaining Ukraine’s artificial weapons shortages, especially artillery and long-range capabilities, will allow President Putin to adapt to the intensity of the current war,” he told an international conference in Munich. said.

“Ukrainians have proven that they can force Russia to leave,” he said. “We can get our land back.”

“Don’t ask Ukraine when the war will end. Ask yourself why Putin can still continue the war.”

Ukraine relies heavily on arms supplies from the United States and other Western allies to continue fighting Russia. Russia is a much larger military force with abundant artillery.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said support for Ukraine from the UK, EU and US would make a “big change” in the fight against Russia.

Ukrainian parliamentarian Oleksiy Goncharenko told the BBC he was disappointed in the American leadership.

“We’ll be with Ukraine as long as we need to because the United States said if you can’t count on your partners, you can count on us. Where is that word now?” he said. said.

Avdiivka has been embroiled in heavy fighting for months and has been a battleground town since Russian-backed warplanes took control of large swaths of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 2014.

The fall of Avdiivka marks the biggest change on the more than 1,000 km (620 miles) long front since Russian forces captured the nearby town of Bakhmut in May 2023.

Denis Pushilin, president of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, welcomed Russia’s territorial gains.

“Today, the Russian city of Avdiivka, one of the oldest settlements in Donbass, returned to Russia,” he said in a video posted on Telegram.

“On behalf of all residents of Donbass, I sincerely thank Russian military personnel, our armed forces and our president for the fact that the Donetsk People’s Republic continues to be liberated.”

General Oleksandr Shirushkyi, the commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, announced the decision to withdraw early Saturday, saying he had acted to “avoid a siege and protect the lives and health of our military personnel.”

“Our soldiers performed their military service with dignity and did their best to destroy the elite units of the Russian army, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment,” he said.