During a face-to-face meeting on Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden apologized to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for delays in passing a $95 foreign aid bill this spring, which included $61 billion in new Ukraine-related spending.
President Biden commended Ukrainian forces in Paris for their continued fight against Russian troops, saying, “You continue to fight in a way that is just remarkable, and we’re not going to walk away from you.”
He acknowledged that funding for Ukraine has been politically divisive in the United States, causing delays in providing the support he had planned. President Biden stated, “I apologize for the weeks of not knowing what’s going to pass in terms of funding.”
The Ukraine Aid Bill
Even before the recent foreign aid package, the U.S. had already provided $113 billion in military, humanitarian, and financial support to Ukraine since 2022.
As Republican opposition to new funding for Ukraine grew, President Biden proposed a supplemental spending package that tied new Ukraine-related spending to military aid for Israel, alliance-building in the Indo-Pacific region, and funding for U.S. border and immigration personnel and equipment.
By October 2023, congressional Republicans sought to tie President Biden’s spending proposal to stricter border security measures. After negotiations collapsed, the U.S. Senate passed a $95 billion version of the supplemental in February, excluding border funding.
Following Iran’s attacks on Israel, House Speaker Mike Johnson split and amended the Senate bill into separate packages, leading to the passage of funding for Ukraine with bipartisan support.
Another $225 Million For Ukraine
The Biden administration announced a $225 million tranche of weapons for Ukraine, including air-defense missile systems, artillery pieces, anti-tank missiles, armored personnel carriers, and more.
President Biden mentioned that additional U.S. funding would assist Ukraine in repairing its damaged electrical grid during his conversation with President Zelenskyy.
Can you please rewrite this sentence for me?
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