Russia tried to turn the tables by accusing Ukraine and its allies of being the ones to expand the war, citing the alleged secret Polish-American plan to control western Ukraine and the recent attacks on targets in Russia. Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, urged Kiev and western capitals to take seriously Russia’s statements “that a further call on Ukraine to attack Russian facilities would certainly lead to a harsh response from Russia.”
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Mr Zelensky, said Ukraine had the right to attack Russian military facilities and “will defend itself in any way”. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace also said Ukraine would be justified in using Western weapons to attack military targets in Russia, as he warned the war could turn into a “slow, frozen occupation, like some sort of cancerous tumor.” in Ukraine.”
War between Russia and Ukraine: important developments
During his White House speech, Mr. Biden rejected Russian suggestions that the United States was waging a proxy war against Moscow. “It shows the despair Russia feels about their abnormal failure to do what they set out to do in the first place,” Mr Biden said.
He also condemned Russian officials for creating the specter of nuclear war. “No one should make useless comments about the use of nuclear weapons or the possibility that they could use them,” Mr Biden said. “It’s irresponsible.”
The massive aid package Biden unveiled on Thursday would overshadow all of the United States’ spending on the war so far. There is broad bipartisan support on Capitol Hill for more aid, but it remained uncertain whether the issue could become entangled in negotiations on additional issues such as pandemic aid or immigration.
The request, more than twice the size of the $13.6 billion package that lawmakers approved and that Mr. Biden signed last month, was intended to last until the end of September, underscoring expectations of a protracted conflict.
It includes more than $20 billion in security and military aid, including $11.4 billion to fund equipment and replenish supplies already provided to Ukraine, $2.6 billion to deploy US troops and equipment in the region. to protect NATO allies and $1.9 billion for cybersecurity and intelligence support.
