Biden announces $8 billion in military aid for Ukraine

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden announced on Thursday a “surge” in assistance to Ukraine, including nearly $8 billion in military aid and new long-range munitions, ahead of a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The announcement came as Russia waved the nuclear threat, and amid a blazing row between Zelensky and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that underscored how the knife-edge US election could soon upend support for Kyiv in its fight against Moscow´s invasion.

“Today, I am announcing a surge in security assistance for Ukraine and a series of additional actions to help Ukraine win this war,” Biden said in a statement.

However, the statement did not mention Kyiv´s hoped-for permission to launch US-made long-range missiles into Russia -- which Zelensky has been pushing hard for, and which Biden has so far refused.

Russia has strongly warned against such a step, and President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced plans to broaden Moscow´s rules on the use of its nuclear weaponry, allowing it to unleash a nuclear response in the event of a “massive” air attack.

The Kremlin said the updated doctrine should be seen as a warning to the West.

Moscow´s statement prompted swift condemnation from Western capitals.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the nuclear threat “totally irresponsible.”

“I think many in the world have spoken clearly about that when he´s been rattling the nuclear saber, including China in the past,” Blinken said in an interview with MSNBC.