United States President Joe Biden has forcefully pledged to defend Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, announcing dozens of new air defense systems for Kyiv, as he welcomed NATO leaders for a summit in Washington, DC, According to Al Jazeera.
The address on Tuesday was Biden’s highest-profile policy speech since a halting performance in a debate on June 27 that raised questions about his fitness for office and fears that he may lose the November 5 election to his predecessor and NATO skeptic, Donald Trump.
Speaking off a teleprompter, his voice confident and strong, Biden declared that NATO was “stronger than it’s ever been in its history.” He emphasized that this strength is crucial in the current global context.
“Autocrats want to overturn the global order” and “terrorist groups” continue to plot “evil schemes,” Biden said, while in Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to wipe “Ukraine off the map.”
“But make no mistake, Ukraine can and will stop Putin,” the US leader said, “especially with our full, collective support. And they have our full support.”
Biden, who has so far rebuffed calls to withdraw from the presidential race, has made restoring traditional alliances abroad the centerpiece of his foreign policy. On the campaign trail, he has sought to spotlight his commitment to NATO while making the case to voters that Trump would turn his back on the alliance if he were to return to the White House. as reported by CNN.
The US president announced major steps Washington and other NATO countries are taking to beef up Ukraine’s overwhelmed air defenses. He said the US, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, and Italy would provide Ukraine with the equipment for five additional strategic air defense systems.
These include four additional Patriot batteries and a SAMP/T defense system.
“In the coming months, the United States and our partners intend to provide Ukraine with dozens of additional tactical air defense systems,” he added. “All told, Ukraine will receive hundreds of additional interceptors over the next year, helping protect Ukrainian cities against Russian missiles and Ukrainian troops facing air attacks on the front lines.” report from NBC News.
European Anxiety Over Trump
NATO, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary, has found a new purpose in opposing Putin’s Ukraine invasion. However, with less than four months to go before the US presidential election, Biden’s political travails loom large.
Robert Hunter, a former US ambassador to NATO, told Al Jazeera that there’s significant worry among NATO leaders about a possible Trump return. “They would really like anybody but Mr. Trump to be president,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly criticized fellow NATO members who failed to meet an agreed-upon goal of spending at least 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, warning in February that he “would encourage” the Russians “to do whatever the hell they want” to countries that do not meet those targets.
Hunter said it was unclear if Biden’s speech was enough to calm European anxiety about his staying power.
“Biden was clearly well-rehearsed, he read it well, the substance was good he had a lot of energy. This is the kind of leader one would want within the alliance, but whether that’s gonna be enough to change minds – I have no idea,” said Hunter. “He’s got another day and a half he’s got to get through. Some of it was unscripted, as today was very tightly scripted.
