President Biden on Thursday pledged another $8 billion in security aid to Ukraine just one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested he might change Moscow’s rules when it comes to its nuclear doctrine.
In a proposal to the Russian Security Council on Wednesday, the Kremlin chief suggested that any attack by a non-nuclear nation that has the backing of a nuclear-armed nation could be seen as a “joint attack” — a move that could have a resounding impact on the war in Ukraine.
The comments were issued ahead of a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Biden on Thursday, in which Zelenskyy is expected to go over a “victory plan” and likely, once again, appeal for long-range strike capabilities.
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Ukraine, a non-nuclear equipped nation, has relied heavily on the U.S.’ military support in its war against Russia.
Neither the U.S. nor Russia have a “no first use policy” when it comes to the deployment of a nuclear weapon. And Putin looked to make clear the “conditions” for which Moscow might determine its right to use its nuclear capabilities.
“The conditions for Russia’s transition to the use of nuclear weapons are also clearly fixed,” Putin said, according to a Reuters translation of his comments.
Putin said that Russia could use nuclear weapons to respond to a conventional attack — including the employment of missiles, drones and aircraft — that poses a “critical threat to our sovereignty.”
Despite the Kremlin’s attempts to once again to escalate the threat of a nuclear conflict amid its war in Ukraine, Biden renewed his commitment to Kyiv on Thursday morning to help it “win this war.”
While it is unlikely that Biden reneges on his, thus far, strict opposition to U.S. missiles being used to hit targets deep inside Russia, Washington approved the first-ever shipment of a medium-range precision-guided glide bomb called the Joint Standoff Weapon, which has a range of up to 81 miles, Reuters reported.
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The missile would allow Ukraine to strike Russian targets at a safer distance — a capability that Ukrainian officials have said is needed to effectively counter Russian advances on its eastern front-line.
Biden said the funds would be divided between a previously authorized $5.5 billion presidential drawdown set to expire on Monday, along with another $2.4 billion authorized through the Department of Defense under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
The president — who also said the U.S. would be sending another Patriot air defense battery and expand training into next year for another 18 F-16 pilots — championed what Ukraine has been able to achieve with the help of Western partners, including winning the battle for Kyiv, retaking roughly half the territory Russian had seized at the onset of the war, and “safeguard[ing] its sovereignty and independence.”
“But there is more work to do,” Biden said. “That is why, today, I am announcing a surge in security assistance for Ukraine and a series of additional actions to help Ukraine win this war.”
The push to send additional aid to Ukraine comes as the U.S., and by extension Kyiv, face potentially a second Trump White House in which some fear aid to Ukraine would likely be largely cut off from further U.S. assistance.