Ukrainian forces 'making fools of the Russian military' with US-supplied armaments, says Biden
President Joe Biden visited on Tuesday a factory in the US state of Alabama that produces Javelin anti-tank missiles, telling employees there that their work has been instrumental in securing Ukraine's defense.
"You're allowing the Ukrainians to defend themselves. And quite frankly, they're making fools of the Russian military in many instances," Biden said at the Lockheed-Martin production plant.
"A big part of the reason they've been able to keep up fighting, and to make this war a strategic failure for Russia is because the United States together allies and partners have had their back," he added.
The Troy, Alabama facility has produced over 50,000 Javelin missiles over the last 20 years, including about 5,500 that have been sent to Ukraine, according to the White House.
The president continued to call on lawmakers to provide him with new funding he requested last week to continue to aid Ukraine militarily and economically, saying lawmakers should "quickly pass" the funding bill.
"We need more money to make sure the United States can continue to send weapons directly to the frontlines of freedom in Ukraine and continue to provide economic and humanitarian assistance helping Ukrainian people," he said. "As I said from the beginning, this fight is not going to be cheap."
The appeal follows Biden warning in late April that he has “almost exhausted” the existing authorities granted by Congress to aid Ukraine. He previously announced two $800 million security assistance packages for Ukraine, and requested Congress appropriate $33 billion for Kyiv.
The supplemental funding request includes $20.4 billion in new military and other security assistance, roughly $8.5 billion in additional economic assistance and $3 billion in humanitarian assistance and food security funding, a Biden administration official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
