Biden calls Putin a WAR CRIMINAL for first time after announcing $800m military package including drones to be sent to Ukraine - but won't be drawn on supplying MiG jets
- Biden signed a $13.6 billion package into law Tuesday that provides military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine as it fends off a Russian invasion that has reportedly seen more civilians slaughtered than Ukrainian soldiers
- Ukrainian President Zelensky pleaded for more assistance in an impassioned speech to Congress Wednesday
- 'I need to protect our skies,' Zelensky told American federal lawmakers, asking for a no-fly zone
- Biden blasted Russia's autocrat President Vladimir Putin’s 'depraved onslaught' in Ukraine
- He gave a detailed account of the latest weapons transfer from the US including artillery, mortar rounds, 20 million rounds of ammunition, 9,000 anti-armor system and 7,000 small arms were included in the package
- As Zelensky addressed Congress, Putin delivered his own remarks that included a chilling warning for US and the West that their 'attempts to have global dominance' are coming to an end
- The president's latest denunciation of Putin comes after Russian troops gunned down civilians in a bread line
By GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR and ELIZABETH ELKIND, POLITICS REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 04:26 AEDT, 17 March 2022 | UPDATED: 07:01 AEDT, 17 March 2022
President Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin a war criminal for the first time after announcing an $800million military package to be sent to Ukraine and watching Volodymyr Zelensky urge him to step up and be the 'leader of peace'.
Biden said 'I think he is a war criminal' when asked by reporters following an event on Wednesday afternoon.
It came after he provided a detailed laundry list at the White House Wednesday of a new tranche of $800 million in deadly arms the U.S. is providing to Ukraine as it it continues to fight against Russia's invasion.
Moscow's autocratic leader, meanwhile, sent a chilling warning to the West on Wednesday that its 'attempts to have global dominance' were coming to an end.
The president's condemnation comes amid mounting calls to declare Putin a 'war criminal' over gruesome reports of Russian soldiers slaughtering civilians. Ukrainian officials previously said that more of its innocents were killed during the nearly three-week conflict than soldiers.
Biden addressed Americans hours after Zelensky's pleaded for more assistance.
The president acknowledged Zelensky's 'significant speech' that showed Ukraine's 'remarkable courage in the face of brutal aggression,' before turning to the contents of the package.
Facing pressure from members of both parties to do more, Biden cast Ukraine's struggle in broad strokes. 'It’s about freedom. It’s about the right of people to determine their own future. It’s about making sure that Ukraine will never be a victory for Putin,' he said of the Russian president.
'We’re going to give Ukraine the arms to fight and defend themselves through all the difficult days ahead,' Biden pledged, as he faces pressure from Congress and from Zelensky to provide Ukraine with a means to defend itself.
He also spoke in unusual detail about the latest package of aid, which brings U.S. military assistance to $1 billion just this week.
After announcing $800 million in new military aid for Ukraine on Wednesday following Volodymyr Zelensky's impassioned address to Congress, Biden told reporters he believes Vladimir Putin is a 'war criminal'
The lethal arms and equipment in Biden's new $800m Ukraine package
The Biden administration says it has committed $2 billion in military assistance to Ukraine.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden unveiled another $800 million in arms and support.
It includes:
800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems
2,000 Javelin, 1,000 light anti-armor weapons, and 6,000 AT-4 anti-armor systems
100 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems - or drones
Stinger missiles have helped prevent Russia claiming air superiority over Ukraine
100 grenade launchers, 5,000 rifles, 1,000 pistols, 400 machine guns, and 400 shotguns
Over 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenade launcher and mortar rounds
25,000 sets of body armor
20 million rounds of ammunition
25,000 helmets
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
It includes 800 anti-aircraft systems, 9,000 anti-armor systems, portable 'high accuracy' shoulder mounted missiles, and 7,000 small arms, plus machine guns, shotguns, and grenade launchers.
He said the package would include drones, 'which demonstrates our commitment to sending our most cutting-edge systems to Ukraine for its defense.' He didn't specify if he meant the latest kamikaze killer drones that the administration had been considering.
Biden said the package included 'additional longer range anti-aircraft systems,' which he described as coming at Zelensky's request.
One thing Biden didn't mention and didn't want to talk about were MiG fighter jets Zelensky is pleading for.
The administration scuttled a plan to have Poland transfer the jets to the U.S. for transfer.
When signing a document directing the transfer, Biden wouldn't comment when asked about the jets.
A number of lawmakers, including Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Wednesday, have called on Biden to provide the planes, despite the administration's concern it could lead to escalation.
'This could be a long and difficult battle,' Biden predicted, as the invasion approached the end of its third week.
He denounced 'Putin’s immoral and unethical attacks,' and said the world was 'united in our abhorrence of Putin’s depraved onslaught.'
Biden also cited international efforts to put pressure on Russia's 'crumbling' economy, while 'isolating Putin' on the global stage. Zelensky also urged more action on that front, urging sanctions not only on Putin but on cronies deep within his government.
'That's our goal. Make Putin pay the price, weaken his position, while strengthening the hand of the Ukrainians on the battlefield and at the negotiating table. Together with our allies and partners, we’re going to stay the course. and we’re going to to push for to push for and end this tragic and unnecessary war,' Biden said, while flanked by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.
Biden calling Putin a war criminal is not the first such denunciation by a world leader.
Biden spoke at the White House shortly after Zelensky addressed the Congress in the first virtual address.
'I need to protect our skies. I need your help, which means the same you feel when you hear I have a dream,' he said.
'We need you right now,' Zelensky said, adding: 'I call on you to do more.'
Right as Kyiv's leader delivered his gut-wrenching address, Putin shared his own speech that was notably darker and more threatening.
In addition to the West, the autocrat also took aim at Russian oligarchs who have been increasingly opposed to the war.
He disparaged Moscow's elite who are frustrated at the West's targeted sanctions as 'traitors' as they find more and more of their assets in the U.S. and Europe seized by foreign authorities over their close ties to Putin.
'I do not judge those with villas in Miami or the French Riviera, or who can't get by without oysters or foie gras or so-called "gender freedoms." The problem is they mentally exist there, and not here, with our people, with Russia,' he said. 'The West will try to bet on the so-called fifth column, on traitors... to divide our society.. to provoke civil confrontation... to strive to achieve its aim. And there is one aim - the destruction of Russia.'
Putin claimed the West's sanctions were being levied only to prevent a 'strong and sovereign Russia.'
He added that Moscow was 'fighting for our sovereignty and the future of our children,' even as Ukrainian officials condemn him for slaughtering their own.
On Tuesday Biden signed a $13.6 billion package into law that provides military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
His speech followed reports the administration was considering providing U.S.-made kamikaze 'Switchblade' killer drones to Ukraine.
The small, lightweight and comparatively cheap 'kamikaze' weapons, which are effectively remote-controlled bombs, come in two versions which have been designed to take out tanks or artillery positions.
They are believed to be the same missiles that killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani under Donald Trump's administration in 2020.
U.S. military officials have noted the Ukrainians have been highly effective at using weapons to take out Russian tanks, trucks, and other armored vehicles.
Biden is not the first world leader to accuse Putin of committing war crimes. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he carried out such atrocities in remarks earlier this month, as reports grew of Russian troops slaughtering civilians (pictured: Dead bodies are put into a mass grave on the outskirts of Mariupol, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 9)
The invasion has also created a refugee crisis, with the United Nations stating that more than 3 million people have fled Ukraine since Putin first ordered the attack on February 24 (pictured: Women rest as children play in a humanitarian aid tent, where refugees are coming to warm up and rest, after crossing from Ukraine into Poland at the Medyka border crossing, southeastern Poland on March 16)
Biden provided details on the deadly military equipment the U.S. was providing, which follows previous aid packages. He was joined by Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L), Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a heartfelt plea for President Joe Biden and America to 'be the leader of the world' and help his country against Russian attacks in a speech where he appealed to U.S. heartstrings by comparing the crisis to the tragedies of 9/11 and Pearl Harbor and invoked Martin Luther King Jr. by saying: 'I have a dream... I have a need'
Zelensky showed a video montage to Congress of the destruction and death in Ukraine (pictured), and said his country is facing a 9/11-like attack every day
Biden's speech followed reports the administration was considering providing U.S.-made kamikaze 'Switchblade' killer drones to Ukraine
Biden said the package would include 'Cutting edge' drones, without providing specifics
Vladimir Putin said today that the West's 'attempt to have global dominance' is coming to an end as he warned it is trying to 'cancel Russia' with an 'economic blitzkrieg' of sanctions
The drones can be used to take out tanks and artillery positions, but can only be used once
There have been reports of a rising death toll among Russian troops – as the staggering toll of civilian Ukrainian losses also rises.
The new aid package Biden just signs includes $6.5 billion to fund Pentagon troop deployments so the nation can bolster its presence in the region, plus $4 billion pays for humanitarian aid.
Although the aid package has been in the works for days, Biden set up his remarks to follow Zelensky's.
Zelensky concluded his speech with a personal appeal to Biden.
'I am addressing the President Biden. You are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace,' he said.
The two leaders spoke on a day when Russian President Vladimir Putin inveighed against 'scum' traitors and fifth columnists, after western officials have hoped openly that he might face an internal schism.
'I do not judge those with villas in Miami or the French Riviera. Or who can't get by without oysters or foie gras or so-called 'gender freedoms,' Putin said in a TV address. 'The problem is they mentally exist there, and not here, with our people, with Russia,' he said.
'The West will try to bet on the so-called fifth column, on traitors... to divide our society.. to provoke civil confrontation... to strive to achieve its aim. And there is one aim - the destruction of Russia,' he claimed.
EXCLUSIVE: Five Mi-17 helicopters, 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems, 600 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 70 Humvees and 40 MILLION rounds of ammunition: The breakdown of Biden's arms shipments to Ukraine in full
By Rob Crilly, senior U.S. political reporter
The Biden administration has already sent five Mi-17 helicopters, more than two thousand Javelin anti-tank missiles and 70 Humvees along with 40 million rounds of ammunition to Ukrainian fighters along with hundreds and hundreds of small arms, according to a list obtained by DailyMail.com.
With Ukraine desperately trying to hold off Russian invaders it reveals just how much military aid has been delivered from Pentagon stores already.
President Joe Biden unveiled a further package to help Ukraine on Wednesday, including 9,000 anti-armor systems, drones and 7,000 small arms - but he remains under pressure to do even more, including helping Poland deliver its MiG-29 fighter jets.
While other nations have trumpeted their arms deliveries, the Pentagon has been tight lipped for fear of divulging too much about Ukrainian capabilities.
But a list circulated to Congress, and later published by the White House, details the assistance sent by the U.S. so far:
More than 600 Stinger anti-aircraft systems
Stinger missiles have helped prevent Russia claiming air superiority over Ukraine. Instead, its air force has launched cruise missiles inside Russian air space rather than risk being shot down
Senior Pentagon officials say Russia has failed to establish air supremacy over Ukraine. Part of the reason is that they are launching cruise missiles inside their own airspace for fear of coming into range of Stinger missiles.
The are infrared homing surface-to-air missiles that can be shoulder-fired.
It carries an explosive warhead that can accelerate to twice the speed of sound, and can hit targets almost three miles away.
They have been in production since 1981.
They came to worldwide prominence in the mid 1980s when the Afghan Mujahideen credited them with downing hundreds of Soviet aircraft, hobbling Moscow's war machine and forcing the eventual Soviet withdrawal.
Approximately 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems
A Ukrainian service member carries a Javelin missile system at a position on the front line in the north Kyiv region. Javelins have helped halt a Russian armored advance on Kyiv
Mobile Ukrainian squads with Javelin anti-tank weapons have been able to stop armored vehicles in their tracks, like this burned-out APC in Kharkiv
Mobile Ukrainian units have developed effective hit-and-run tactics against Russian tanks and armor.
Part of that is down to their agility and speed, and part of it is due to their use of Javelin rockets.
It has a fire-and-forget design that allows operators to slip away into cover while the rocket uses infrared technology to home in on its target. It also has the ability to arrive from above, where tanks have the thinnest armor.
Such has been the impact of the Javelin that it features in a viral meme that depicts it as 'Saint Javelin,' protector of Ukraine, and as an icon borne by Mary Magdalene.
Five Mi-17 helicopters
Five Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters have been transferred from the defunct Afghan Air Force to Ukraine, probably for use as transports
This Russian-made helicopter has been in production since 1975, and are found all around the world.
They were used by the Afghan Air Force and five were withdrawn last year, as part of the U.S. draw down, and delivered to Ukraine, where pilots are familiar with Soviet-era aircraft.
It has a top speed of 280 miles per hour, and can operate at altitudes up to 20,000 feet.
It is used mostly as a transport but there are armed gunship versions in use around the world.
Three patrol boats
Three Island-class former U.S. Coast Guard patrol boats have been delivered to Ukraine
Last year, two refitted former U.S. Coast Guard patrol boats were delivered to bolster the Ukrainian Navy.
The two Island-class cutters have a top speed of almost 30 knots and Reuters reported at the time that Ukrainian sailors had already been trained on the vessels in the U.S.
On Wednesday, Biden revealed they were 'armed.'
Four counter-artillery and counter-unmanned aerial system tracking radars
Counter-battery radar can locate hostile batteries up to about 30 miles away depending on weather and terrain.
No further details were revealed about the systems, other than they also include devices to counter Russian drones.
Small arms
Along with the bigger weapons, the U.S. has sent 200 grenade launchers with grenades, 200 shotguns, and 200 machine guns.
In all, it has supplied almost 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition and more than one million grenade, mortar and artillery rounds.
70 Humvees and other vehicles
70 Humvees have been sent to Ukraine, along with dozens of other vehicles as Ukraine mounts hit and run defenses of its major cities
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle is a highly mobile, high-performance, air-droppable family of tactical vehicles. It is better known as the Humvee.
It has been in service with the U.S. military since 1983, and fully loaded has a top speed of 55 miles per hour.
At least 35 arrived in a shipment last year, and in total some 70 Humvees have been sent to Ukraine.
The fact sheet lists plenty of other non-lethal aid, including body armor and helmets, secure communications equipment, medical supplies, and demining equipment.
And it also hints at intelligence sharing, listing 'satellite imagery and analysis capability.'
Already the U.S. has delivered some $1 billion in assistance - and there is more to come.
The Russians have been accused of deliberately targeting civilian areas with missile and artillery attacks as President Vladimir Putin doubles down on his assault
'Deliveries of security assistance are ongoing, and we are working to expedite deliveries of additional equipment as quickly as possible,' said the fact sheet.
'Over the past two weeks alone, the United States has delivered more than $250 million of security assistance to Ukraine. The administration is prepared to approve additional support to Ukraine’s frontline defenders in the coming days.'
A day earlier Biden signed a funding bill that included another $3 billion in arms and military aid for Ukraine.
And on Wednesday, he described the impact of the weapons he had already sent.
'Once the war started, we immediately rushed 350 million in additional aid to further address their needs: hundreds of anti-air systems, thousands of anti-tank weapons, transport helicopters, armed patrol boats, and other high mobility vehicles, radar systems that help track incoming artillery and unmanned drones, secure communications equipment and tactical gear, satellite imagery and analysis capacity,' he said.
'And it's clearly helped Ukraine inflict dramatic losses on Russian forces.'
Earlier Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a heartfelt plea to Congress for more help, saying his country was going through its own version of September 11th and Pearl Harbor every day.
He also demanded that President Joe Biden become the 'leader of the free world', by imposing more sanctions on Russia and sending fighter jets.
'I am addressing the President Biden. You are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace,' he said.
Supplying arms to Ukraine has been a largely bipartisan cause, as lawmakers rally around the country's heroic fight against Russia.
But Democrats and Republicans have at times urged the administration to go further and faster, by imposing a no-fly zone or supplying jets.
On Tuesday, senior Republicans urged Biden to get crucial weapons systems to Ukraine immediately.
'Immediately deliver additional Stinger missile systems and munitions to the Ukrainian armed forces and engage with allies and partners to deliver Soviet- or Russian-made strategic and tactical air defense systems and associated radars to Ukraine,' they wrote.
'This should be followed by discussions regarding near-term U.S. force posture moves to mitigate air defense shortfalls in such allied and partner countries and eventual backfill with like capabilities.'
Republicans have asked the administration to think again about helping Poland send its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, after Washington vetoed the proposal last week
Zelensky's government has repeatedly appealed for a N.A.T.O. no-fly zone to halt Russian bombing attack.
However, Biden has ruled out such a move, warning it would directly pit N.A.T.O.pilots against Russian pilots in combat.
In their letter, the signatories - Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Idaho Senator James Risch and Representatives Mike Rogers, Michael Turner and Michael McCaul - laid out a shopping list of priority items.
Grenade launchers, small drones, rangefinders, binoculars and thermal imaging cameras, secure communications, first-aid kits, artillery, mortar and multiple-launch rocket systems, gas masks and protective chemical clothing, should be seen as a priority.
They wrote that Ukraine had enjoyed success with weapons delivered so far - with the Pentagon assessing that much of the Russian advance had been stalled for days.
'This has been particularly evident for anti-tank and anti-air weapons systems,' they wrote.
'The expenditure rate for such munitions is high.
'As the invasion drags on, Russia will reorganize, resupply, consolidate its forces, and modify its tactics in an attempt to violently accelerate its advances.
'Ukrainian forces will likely have to expend munitions from these and other weapons at an increasing rate—meaning the need for restocking will only grow more urgent with each passing day.'
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