Biden and Sunak discuss urgent need for support to Ukraine
The U.S. President and the British Prime Minister discussed aid to Ukraine (Photo: GettyImages)
U.S. President Joe Biden discussed a range of issues with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, including assistance to Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, announces the White House National Security and Defense Council Coordinator John Kirby.
"They (leaders - Ed.) also talked about Ukraine and the urgent need Ukraine is facing right now for additional supplemental funding and support for their ability to defend themselves in on the field of battle," Kirby said.
According to the White House representative, Biden and Sunak also discussed the situation in the Red Sea, particularly the necessity of continuing the international multilateral approach to undermine the potential of Yemeni Houthi rebels.
The American leader and the British Prime Minister also talked about the need to reduce civilian casualties and increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Assistance to Ukraine from Britain and the U.S.
The U.S. and Britain have been key allies of Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. The Ukrainian military has received multi-billion packages of economic and military aid from these partners.
Additionally, on January 12, during his visit to Kyiv, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak signed an agreement on security guarantees with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Thus, Britain became the first country to sign such an agreement with Ukraine.
For more details on the document, see the material by RBC-Ukraine.
Furthermore, in October 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden submitted a bill to Congress proposing $106 billion in aid. Of this amount, $61.3 billion was proposed for Ukraine.
However, on December 6, Republicans blocked the start of debates on the bill in the Senate.
On January 12, the White House announced that assistance to Ukraine would be suspended until Congress approves new funding.
