United States President Joe Biden has apologized to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for previous delays in Washington’s aid to Kyiv, emphasizing that the US will continue to support Ukraine.
The two leaders met on Friday in Paris during the D-Day anniversary celebrations, where President Biden announced a $225 million aid package to help rebuild Ukraine’s electric grid.
Biden emphasised that the US will continue to stand with Ukraine against the Russian invasion. “We’re still in – completely, thoroughly,” he said.
Washington has provided tens of billions of dollars to Kyiv to help fend off the Russian offensive that began in February 2022.
But earlier this year, funds available for the Biden administration to help Ukraine began to dwindle during an impasse in Congress to authorise new aid.
Some right-wing lawmakers have been sceptical of US support for Ukraine. Further complicating matters, legislators tried to link Ukraine aid to other issues, including assistance to Israel and domestic priorities.
After months of negotiations between the White House and congressional leaders, lawmakers passed a $61bn Ukraine funding bill in April that Biden signed into law.
The legislation also provided $14bn in military aid to Israel.
“I apologise for the weeks of not knowing what’s going on in terms of funding,” Biden told Zelenskyy, blaming “very conservative” members of Congress for holding up the funding bill.