A mother and her baby seen during the evacuation. Thousands of residents of Irpin have to abandon their homes and evacuate as Russian troops are bombing a peaceful city. War refugees in Ukraine. (Photo by Mykhaylo Palinchak / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)
Evacuation of residents in Irpin, Ukraine – 09 Mar 2022
WASHINGTON — The White House has pledged an additional $500 million in direct aid for Ukraine as the Russian invasion grinds on.
U.S. President Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a 55 minute call Wednesday that the additional aid was on its way. The leaders also reviewed security aid already delivered to Ukraine and the effects that weaponry has had on the war, according to the White House.
Zelesnkyy has pressed the Biden administration and other Western allies to provide Ukraine with military jets. The U.S. and other NATO countries have thus far been unwilling to accommodate that request out of concern it could lead to Russia broadening the war beyond Ukraine’s borders.
Prior to Wednesday’s announcement of $500 million in aid, the Biden administration had sent Ukraine about $2 billion in humanitarian and security assistance since the start of the war last month.
That’s all part of the $13.6 billion that Congress approved earlier this month for Ukraine as part of a broader spending bill.
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