Biden, Zelenskyy discuss further military assistanc

US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday (19 October) discussed Washington’s continued military support for Kyiv’s drive to evict Russian forces, with the Ukrainian leader expressing thanks for supplying long-range missiles, Reuters informs.

The two men spoke in advance of Biden’s scheduled address on the need to spend billions of dollars in assistance for both Ukraine and Israel.

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‘Smart investment’

Biden said that helping the two US allies was “a smart investment that’s going to pay dividends for American security for generations”, as he sought to rally support for new aid packages.

The White House account of the conversation said Biden “underscored the continued strong bipartisan support in the United States for Ukraine’s defense of its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democratic future”.

Zelenskyy thanked Biden and Congress for supplying long-range ATACMS missiles and said on the Telegram messaging app that Ukrainian soldiers “are successfully using them on the battlefield”.

In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy described the exchange as “a substantive conversation, between allies”.

“We discussed military support, among other things, how ATACMS can help us speed up Ukraine’s liberation from the occupier,” he said. “Of course, we also talked about maintaining assistance to Ukraine next year, a significant support package for our country.” The White House said on Tuesday it had supplied Kyiv with ATACMS missiles and Zelenskyy said his forces had used such missiles in action.

Ukraine says it struck Russian-held airfields in overnight attacks

Ukrainian forces struck airfields in Russian-held territory in eastern and southern Ukraine overnight, destroying helicopters, knocking out an air defence missile launcher and damaging runways, Kyiv’s military said on Tuesday (17 October).

Kyiv had long requested the ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems), suggesting they could alter the course of the war.
Asked on television whether regular shipments and larger numbers of missiles were expected, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: “It means this.”

“And this is a direct result of the agreement between President Zelenskyy and President Biden, reached in Washington during a personal meeting in late September,” he said.

It is not clear how many missiles have already been delivered. According to the New York Times, citing two Western officials, the US has sent about 20 of them so far.

Russian reaction

US President Joe Biden’s comment in which he called support for Ukraine and Israel an “investment” shows that Washington benefits from proxy wars rather than fights for ideas, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said on Friday.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on the Telegram messaging app that Biden’s comments betray a cynical approach.