US prepares $8 billion in arms aid packages for Zelenskiy visit, sources say
WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The United States plans to announce more than $8 billion worth of military assistance for Ukraine on Thursday during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's visit to Washington, two U.S. officials said on Wednesday.
President Joe Biden's administration has been engaged in urgent discussions with Congress to allow it to use up $5.6 billion in military aid for Ukraine before Sept. 30 - the end of the federal fiscal year - when the authority was set to expire.
On Thursday, U.S. officials said, the White House intends to notify Congress it will move forward with the announcement of a $5.6 billion drawdown from U.S. weapons stocks. The contents of that package are still in flux, the officials said.
Reuters reported this month that the Biden administration was considering a backup plan under which it would announce plans for shipments for Ukraine, but with an extended delivery timeline for the weapons and equipment, allowing for a more gradual transfer of resources to Ukraine without missing the Sept. 30 deadline.
A second announcement slated for Thursday will be for $2.4 billion worth of aid under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative program, which allows the administration to buy weapons for Ukraine from companies rather than pull them from U.S. stocks.
That aid will include munitions, weapons to combat drones and material to support munitions production in Ukraine, one of the U.S. officials said.
In addition, the U.S. announced on Wednesday $375 million worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority for Ukraine. The package will include the first shipment of a precision-guided glide bomb with a range of up to 81 miles (130 km) called the Joint Standoff Weapon, two U.S. officials said. The inclusion of that weapon was not disclosed in the announcement.
Great!
It's good to see the whole west is doing things to stop the psycopath dictator Putin.
Good.
Meanwhile Biden is quickly scooping up another 8 billion to Israel to help it invade Lebanon and genocide Palestine. Imagine if the US would give Ukraine the money instead. But genociding brown people is always more important than stopping an imperialist dictator.
The military industrial complex is committed to fight to the last Ukrainian. Its simply good for business.
The Kremlin is commited to spreading disinformation on social media. It's simply good for dividing and conquering their political rivals.
It's not disinformation to point out the role the US and UK played in shutting down every peace talk in this conflict.
What were putins requirements for peace?
Exactly! Putin wants all occupied territory plus territory they haven't even conquered, like all of the Kherson region, including the city that is under Ukrainian control. And they want Zelenskyj removed, which translates to Russian puppet government.
According to the New York Times, the initial Russian demands were
In return, Ukrainian demands were
As negotiations progressed, both sides made concessions over the status of Crimea, the allowed positions of Russian troops, and the status of Ukraine in regards to NATO and its nuclear nonproliferation.
Then, the west put its finger on the scale and ended the negotiations.
So what you're saying is that putin wanted to steal more land?
Yes of course Putin wants as much land as he can get.
I'm also saying that, if the deal had been reached in spring 2022, Ukraine would control more territory than it currently controls now. And there would be at least 100,000 more Ukrainians alive that wouldnt have been sacrificed to Putin's meat grinder. Thousands of murdered Ukrainian civilians would still be alive.
Something something no nukes, no attack. Yada yada yada.
Surely you can see that putin is not an honorable man. Or at least not honorable enough to keep his governments word.
Of course, any deal that relies simply on Putin's word isn't worth the paper its printed on.
Well-designed peace deals never rely on honor. They rely on mutual benefit, verification, with agreed-upon punishments for failure.
tHe wEsT
Or if you'd like me to be more specific, the US and the UK.
What you are doing is an extreme distortion of reality, and yes that is very much disinformation.
Also it's a very used Russian talking point. That Ukraine should just surrender, when in fact Russia could end this war immediately by simply going home!
The view you present here is outright despicable, and a bow to state terrorism.
I do not want Ukraine to surrender, that is stupid.
Every war ends with talking to your enemy, this war will be no different. The sooner Ukraine and Russia can come to a negotiated settlement, the sooner the Ukrainian people will know peace.
The demands from Russia for a peace talk is as close to a Ukrainian surrender as it gets.
Putin demands territory they aren't even occupying, and they demand a Russian friendly government in Ukraine.
I have no idea what you imagine would be negotiated at this point, but there is no way it could in any way be fair to Ukraine.
You are either extremely naive and unrealistic, or a Russian puppet.
Do you have a source for those "Putin demands"? That is news to me and I'd love to read more.
In the 2022 talks, many people negotiated in good faith, including President Zelenskyy. You can find many quotes from Zelenskyy praising the progress made in these negotiations. Do you think Zelenskyy is extremely naive and unrealistic, or is he a Russian puppet too?
As a relatively nearby neighbor to these events, I've been following developments from before the war even started. I admit I was shocked USA was right, and Putin did in fact invade Ukraine.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/14/world/europe/russia-ukraine-putin-cease-fire.html
This is merely for a cease fire Putin actually wants!!! And still he demands Ukraine hand over Kherson!! Together with remaining parts of 4 regions Ukraine currently control.
Putin is completely delusional about his standing,
Which is of course perfectly reasonable by Ukraine, but Putin is nowhere near giving up Crimea.
To claim any 3rd party nation has had any obstructive effect in these talks not taking place is ridiculous.
Other source:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/06/14/vladimir-putin-demands-war-ukraine/
Regarding the demand that Zelenskyj step down, I can't fin direct links to them, as I'm overwhelmed with more recent news in my search. But it's inherent in the rhetoric of Putin like for instance this speech from 2022:
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67828
It does require some broader knowledge, like Putin is trying to rebuild the USSR. But Putin claim Ukraine is part of Russia, despite they entered USSR as an independent country, and when USSR collapsed, Ukraine went back to their former status. Putins claim on Ukraine is based on falsification of historical events. But Putin is KGB/FSB, so he deals in misinformation when it benefit his goals.
Another reason for the Russian invasion is large deposits of gas and oil in Ukraine, and Putin probably tried to prevent having to compete with Ukraine on the lucrative gas exports to Europe.
crickets
Exactly LOL 😀
That's not a good take. The US has been dragging it's feet in supplying Ukraine and has put gigantic restrictions on the use of those supplies. A very stark difference compared to Israel's use, as an example. Zelensky just had a meeting with Biden today about his plan ending the war that I'm sure will involve giving up a significant amount of Ukraine to Russia. It's not great being neighbors with Russia.
So you're saying the west is providing enough weapons to keep the conflict going, but not providing the weapons Ukraine says it needs to win the war? Hmmm
I have a feeling you'd like to see Ukraine fall and be wiped off the map. Why, what purpose does that serve?
I have no idea what could have given you that silly idea. I'm being realistic about the issues that go along with US military support.
The US is treating Ukraine the same way it treated Afghanistan during the Soviet war. Afghanistan, just like Ukraine, was the victim of an unjust invasion. We (the US) supported the opposition to the Soviets, and we handed them billions in weapons. We were on the right side.
But we also sabotaged peace deals to prolong the war. We increased the ferocity and brutality of the fighting. We meddled in local politics, choosing winners and losers. This pattern did not end well for the people of Afghanistan, and I fear a similar fate for the people of Ukraine.
There's a path to NATO membership Ukraine has that Afghanistan didn't. The US never considered the Afghan people a true ally - just a useful tool to weaken Russia. Similar to Ukraine arming Russian separatists but on a much larger scale. Everyone wants this war to end on all sides. It's just a matter of forcing Putin into good faith bargaining or total Russian victory.
Sorry to say, NATO membership is just the carrot on the stick that the US uses to lead Ukraine around.
Do you really believe the US considers Ukraine a "true ally"? All the evidence shows that Ukraine is just another useful tool to weaken Russia. US Senators admit this reality from the Senate floor.
Not everyone wants this conflict to end, some are getting very rich.
Everyone would rather Putin didn't invade its neighbours. That's the actual issue here
What are you on? Ukraine is defending themselves against a Russian invasion, with a commitment proclaimed by Putin to commit genocide!!!
Are you responding to the wrong person? The Russian invasion of Ukraine is horrible and unjustified; I disagree with nothing you said.
What I am pointing out is the US and Western interest in the conflict. The US does not support Ukraine for moral reasons, it supports Ukraine for profit.
The US has an interest in extending the war. For example, the closest Ukraine has come to peace were the talks during spring of 2022. The influence of the US, and specifically Boris Johnson, ended those talks.
Nope I'm not responding to the wrong person, it's not the "industrial complex" that donates weapons to Ukraine, it's the government, and I'm very happy that my country too is a large contributor.
To claim you disagree with nothing I wrote is a weird statement.
So how do you feel about the US and UK ending the peace talks? You seem to be avoiding the subject here.
What the fuck are you talking about? That never happened, it's not even possible for christ sake. You are spreading lies.
You would know what I'm talking about if you actually read the sources I linked to.
If I am spreading lies, it is because I believed those lies when I read them in reputable publications like The New York Times and The Nation.
Those talks ended because Russia practically demanded Ukraine surrender their sovereignty.