Biden's $8 billion aid pledge during Zelenskyy's Washington visit
A retrospective on 26 September 2024, when a large US military aid package was announced as Kyiv's diplomacy drew criticism at home and abroad.
What did Ukraine's president take away from Washington on 26 September 2024? Chiefly a pledge: before meeting Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Joe Biden announced a military aid package of more than $8 billion for Ukraine.
Biden also directed the Pentagon to allocate all remaining security funds to Ukraine by the end of his presidential term in January 2025.
A visit under political scrutiny
The announcement came after a politically charged day. On 25 September 2024, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson demanded that Zelenskyy dismiss Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova. Johnson's objection followed Zelenskyy's visit to an ammunition factory in Pennsylvania with several Democratic politicians. Johnson claimed the visit represented foreign electoral intervention, as the 2024 US presidential election approached.
Friction over peace proposals
The same day, Zelenskyy also criticised two other countries. He accused Brazil and China of using their proposed peace plan for ending the Russo-Ukrainian War to increase their geopolitical power "at Ukraine's expense". By his account, they did so by urging developing nations to agree to it.
Taken together, the reports from 25 and 26 September 2024 show a visit in which Kyiv secured a major commitment from the sitting US president while facing a demand from a senior Republican and disagreement with Brazil and China over how the war might end.
