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OnPolitics: The president announces additional aid to Ukraine

Amy Nakamura ,  Chelsey Cox   | Paste BN

Good afternoon, OnPolitics readers!

Invoking some of America's greatest tragedies to explain his country's struggle, Zelenskyy implored the U.S. to do more to help him fight Russia's onslaught of attacks in a virtual address Wednesday to Congress that ended with a direct plea to Biden.

"President Biden, you are the leader of your great nation," Zelenskyy said, concluding his emotional appeal. "I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace."

The 16-minute address marked a rare moment: a world leader, whose country has been under siege for three weeks, making his case to the American people. Members of Congress watched from an auditorium at the U.S. Capitol complex with Zelenskyy, speaking from Kyiv , displayed on a large video screen.

"We need you right now. Remember Pearl Harbor, the terrible morning of December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you," Zelenskyy, wearing a khaki T-shirt, said. "Remember September 11, a terrible day in 2001, when evil tried to turn your cities, independent territories, into battlefields when innocent people were attacked." 

Zelenskyy's appeal to Congress came as the Biden administration has rejected his repeated calls for the U.S. and allies to declare a "no-fly" zone over Ukraine. The White House has argued such a policy – which would have the U.S. shoot down Russian planes that enter Ukraine airspace – would be perceived as escalatory by Russian President Vladimir Putin and could lead to war between the U.S. and Russia.

Zelenskyy proposes U-24, a new coalition: With Ukraine unable to join NATO, Zelenskyy pushed for the creation of a "United for Peace" alliance, which he referred to as "U-24." He said it would be made up of 24 "responsible countries that have the strength and consciousness to stop conflict immediately."

"If such an alliance would exist today," he said, "we would be able to save thousands of lives in our country."

Ukraine to receive additional aid from US

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday an additional $800 million in military aid for Ukraine, just hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's address to the U.S. Congress.

Biden said the U.S. is adding to its assistance, which now totals $1 billion just this week, to help "fend off Russia's assault."

"America is leading this effort, together with our allies and partners, providing enormous levels of security and humanitarian assistance that we're adding to today, and we're going to do more in the days and weeks ahead," he said, adding the fight is "about the right of people to determine their own future, about making sure Ukraine never will be a victory for Putin, no matter what advances he makes on the battlefield."

It's Amy and Chelsey with today's top stories out of Washington.

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Biden risks losing support from Black voters

During his 2020 victory speech shortly after winning the presidential election, Biden told the Black voters who had his back, “I owe you.” Last April, during his first address to a joint session of Congress, the president committed his administration to targeting systemic racism.

But some Black Americans are still waiting on him to fulfill those promises.

A new poll shows support for the president among Black people is trending downward. His 83% approval among this group from last April dropped to 64% in January.

The reasons are manifold. Last April, Biden called on Congress to enact sweeping police accountability reforms by the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s death. Floyd, a Black man, died in 2020 after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes. But the president made no mention of race and only briefly touched on voting rights legislation during the first State of the Union address of his presidency earlier this month.

"Biden obviously feels the best way to get his message across — and to not offend anybody — is to not talk about race," said Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter.

Black voters will need extra incentive to support the president in 2024. Polling in Georgia, a major battleground state, shows most Black Georgians (72%) approve of Biden’s overall job performance. But when asked how Biden is "doing in addressing the needs of Black people," approval dropped to 62%, and 53% among respondents under age 50.

Good news: The White House is reopening for tours next month after closing for two years due to the pandemic. Here's how to see the president's residence. — Amy and Chelsey.

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