U.S. President Joe Biden assures continued support to Ukraine

Transcript

00:00 In the meantime, in spite of Slovakia's newly elected leader expressing doubts to help fund

00:04 Ukraine's defense and the U.S. Congress, earmarking zero dollars in its spending items over the next

00:10 45 days, U.S. President Joe Biden vowed continuing support, as VOA's Anita Powell reports.

00:17 Cracks are appearing in the wall of Western support for Ukraine, as President Joe Biden

00:23 beseeches congressional Republicans to grant the 24 billion dollars he seeks to fortify Ukraine

00:28 against Russia's invasion. Congress over the weekend passed a stopgap spending bill that

00:33 keeps the U.S. government open for another six weeks. But that package should not include the

00:38 Ukraine aid, leading Biden to appeal across the political aisle to legislators who have

00:42 expressed concerns about accountability and exasperation that the war is still raging

00:47 after more than 19 months. I hope my friends the other side keep their word about support for

00:53 Ukraine. They said they're going to support Ukraine in a separate vote. We cannot, under any

00:59 circumstance, allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted. I fully expect the Speaker to

01:04 keep his commitment to secure the passage and support needed to help Ukraine as they defend

01:10 themselves against aggression and brutality. On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karine

01:14 Jean-Pierre told VOA that the administration remains determined amid this domestic pressure

01:18 and concerns from the newly elected leader of NATO member Slovakia, who campaigned that he would

01:24 not send a single bullet to Ukraine from the state's stocks. NATO alliance, it's the strongest

01:28 that it's ever been because of what this president's leadership has been. We're going to continue to

01:33 certainly have those conversations with our partners and allies. But look, and I said this

01:38 earlier, it does not help. It does not help what we see House Republicans doing. Ukrainian President

01:44 Vladimir Zelensky, hosting European foreign ministers in Kiev on Monday, said unity is crucial.

01:49 Our victory explicitly depends on our cooperation. The more powerful and principled steps we take

01:58 together, the sooner this war will end, and fairly, with the restoration of our territorial

02:04 integrity and a reliable guarantee of peace for the whole of Europe. And from Moscow, President

02:12 Vladimir Putin's spokesman appeared to take a dig at the situation, saying Moscow sees tiredness

02:18 among Western supporters. To which Jean-Pierre replied, and if Putin thinks he can outlast us,

02:24 he's wrong. He's wrong. And so we will have another package of aid for Ukraine soon to signal our

02:31 continued support for the brave people of Ukraine. And so that's our message. If he thinks he can

02:36 outlast us, that is Mr. Putin, we believe he's wrong. But military experts acknowledged that

02:41 Zelensky's counteroffensive, which aimed to bite off chunks of Russian held territory,

02:45 has been slower than hoped. The results have been disappointing. And a number of people are asking

02:52 the question, how does this end? What is Ukraine's theory of victory? I think President Zelensky is

02:58 going to have to articulate that in the next couple of months in order to rally his supporters.

03:07 But the Ukrainian people remain determined. Over the weekend, the besieged capital held

03:12 its first full marathon since the start of the invasion. 5,000 participants, many of them service

03:17 members, some of them amputees, ran the 42-kilometer course to raise money for the nation's defense,

03:22 step by painful step. Anita Palapio, E! News, the White House.