Biden says alternate Ukraine funding possible, US could send ATACMS missiles: Live updates
President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he will be delivering a “major” speech on Ukraine as his administration pushes Congress to keep providing military assistance.
The 45-day funding bill that prevented a federal government shutdown late Saturday did not provide any aid to Ukraine. The U.S. can support the embattled nation with previously approved resources for now, Biden said, and there may be another means by which he can supply funding. He did not elaborate on what that could be, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Biden said he’d make the argument in his speech that it’s “overwhelmingly” in the United States’ interest that Ukraine succeed in the war. The president said he had a long conversation with 16 or 17 foreign leaders on Tuesday, in which he told them the majority of the American people and most lawmakers still support Ukraine.
Although some members of the House do not want to provide additional money to Ukraine, Biden told reporters, “I don’t think we should let the gamesmanship get in the way of” authorizing more funding.
In his remarks, Biden also hinted at plans to send Ukraine the long-range missiles, or ATACMS, that its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has requested for months to help drive Russia out in the counteroffensive.
“I have spoken with Zelenskyy, and everything he’s asked for, we’ve worked out,” Biden said.
Zelenskyy told American media, including Paste BN, during an interview that concluded his visit to Washington last month that it is essential Ukraine receive the long-range weapons by winter.
“We have to, I think, yes,” he said. “Because we don’t have another way out.”
'We're pretty much done': 'Unwavering' support for Ukraine starts to waver
Developments:
∎ Ukraine's Special Operations Forces landed in occupied Crimea and attacked Russian forces, retreating after completing an unspecified mission, spokesperson Andrii Yusov told Pravda Ukraine. "Unfortunately, there are losses among Ukrainian forces," Yusov said.
∎ FIFA, soccer's world governing body, approved the return of Russia's Under-17 teams to its competitions Wednesday, eight days after the European ruling body (UEFA) made a similar decision.
∎ Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, said she has begun reaching out to possible successors to ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy with an eye toward continuing the flow of aid to the war effort.
US transfers to Ukraine weapons seized from Iran
The U.S. has found a new way to address some of Ukraine's ammunition shortage, and the tactic may serve two purposes.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Central Command said 1.1 million 7.62-mm rounds seized from Iran have been transferred to Ukraine. The ammunition, typically used in machine guns and rifles, should mitigate the scarcity of those rounds, although Ukraine has a more dire need of artillery shells and air defense missiles.
"The government obtained ownership of these munitions on July 20, 2023, through the Department of Justice’s civil forfeiture claims against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC),'' the Central Command said in a statement, adding that Iran was violating a UN resolution by sending the munitions to the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The U.S. also intends to re-route to Ukraine other weapons seized from Iran in transit to Yemen, including AK-47 assault rifles, the New York Times reported.
Iran has been one of Russia's top enablers in the war, providing the explosive Shahed drones the Kremlin has used to terrorize Ukrainian civilians and attack the country's energy facilities. Turning Iranian weapons against Russia could help drive a wedge between the countries, or at least curtail their cooperation.
Ukraine reaching 'bottom of the barrel' in ammunition
Ukraine’s slow but steady counteroffensive desperately needs an infusion of weapons and ammunition if efforts to drive the Russians out will be successful, the head of NATO’s Military Committee warned.
Dutch Adm. Rob Bauer, speaking Tuesday during a panel discussion at the Warsaw Security Forum, said allied countries and defense contractors need to focus on the mass manufacture of weapons and ammunition quickly.
“The bottom of the barrel is now visible,” Bauer said.
Bauer’s warning adds to the recurring theme over the resupply of Ukraine’s armed forces amid political turmoil in the United States that led to a stopgap measure that funded the government but not Ukraine military aid. The Pentagon has said there is less than $2 billion remaining of $25.9 billion to replenish military stocks.
“We are determined to work actively with our partners to provide our warriors with more weapons and ammunition, particularly air defense systems and missiles,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post. “I am grateful to everyone who helps Ukraine.”
Ukraine's land struggles deflect from Black Sea wins, British official says
Those focusing on Ukraine's slow progress on the battlefield are missing a big success, according to James Heappey, the British Minister for the Armed Forces.
Speaking at the Warsaw Security Conference in Poland, Heappey acknowledged Ukraine's counteroffensive has reclaimed limited amounts of territory seized by Russia early in the war, nothing like the large chunks of land Kyiv's forces liberated in the Kharkiv province in September 2022.
But he pointed to how conditions have changed in the Black Sea, where Ukraine has established a new shipping route for its grain after attacking Russia's fleet and its headquarters in the Crimean city of Sevastopol.
“The functional defeat of the Black Sea fleet – and I would argue that is what it is because it has been forced to disperse to ports from which it cannot have an effect on Ukraine – is an enormous credit and every bit as important, every bit as much progress, as what was happening in the Kharkiv Oblast last year,'' Heappey said.
Fraud scheme targeted Ukraine soldiers at the front
Ukraine's National Police say a criminal network of about a dozen people has scammed more than 20 soldiers, volunteers and others who bought non-existent vehicles, often intended for use on the front lines of the war. Ads were posted on social networks promising to deliver vans and pickups to the front − but "as soon as they received money, they stopped communicating and disappeared," police said.
In one phone conversation with a soldier, a suspect told a fictional story that his father was also fighting, so he wanted to help soldiers and was ready to personally deliver the car to the front line. The suspect asked for gas money, then later said the car broke down and more money was needed for repairs.
Charges have been filed and some of the suspects have been taken into custody, police said.
Contributing: The Associated Press