Biden gives Zelenskyy $225 million in aid, apologizes for delay

President Joe Biden announced a new $225 million aid package for Ukraine during a meeting with his counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and pledged continued U.S. support as Kyiv looks to turn the tide in the war with Russia.

Biden said Friday part of the aid package would help Ukraine rebuild its electrical grid, which has been decimated by Russian attacks. It also includes ammunition that Ukrainian forces could use to strike targets inside Russia from the epicenter of fighting in Kharkiv, according to the Associated Press.

“I’m not going to walk away from you,” Biden told Zelenskyy. “We’re still in completely, thoroughly.”

The contrite-sounding U.S. president apologized to the Ukrainian leader “for the weeks of not knowing” if more U.S. assistance would be approved when Republicans held up an aid package. “We got it done finally,” Biden said.

Biden and Zelenskyy met in Paris where they are participating in ceremonies to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, which helped the Allies reverse the momentum against Nazi Germany during World War II. Biden has used the events to highlight the need to sustain support for Kyiv, linking the war to the Allied effort to defeat Nazi Germany and preserve democracy eight decades ago.

Zelenskyy said their meeting in Paris was “very symbolic” and that “it’s very important you stay with us,” thanking Biden for the new aid package.

Ukraine is facing a renewed Russian offensive and stepped-up air attacks on its cities as Moscow capitalizes on the months-long delay in new U.S. aid that left Kyiv facing weapons shortages. The U.S. and other nations have stepped up their negotiations to secure an agreement on how to use seized Russian assets to provide as much as $50 billion in critical financing for Ukraine – funds that will help shield the country from political shifts in allied nations.

Biden is also allowing Ukraine to strike some military targets within Russia using U.S.-provided weapons, a move he long resisted over fears that it could draw other countries into the war. In an interview Thursday, Biden sought to characterize the move as limited in scope to certain Russian targets across the border, saying that the U.S. was not “authorizing strikes on Moscow, on the Kremlin.”

Biden is also set to meet Zelenskyy next week on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Italy, but he will not be attending an upcoming peace summit in Switzerland, a decision that has rankled the Ukrainian leader. Biden has a previously scheduled high-dollar political fundraiser in Los Angeles featuring former President Barack Obama and Hollywood stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Vice President Kamala Harris will attend the summit instead. Zelenskyy said Friday he was “thankful” for the U.S. delegation’s participation.