NEWS
Biden to Advocate For More Aid To Ukraine In Address to UN General Assembly
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President Joe Biden will address the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Tuesday, where he will advocate for continued support for Ukraine in its ongoing fight against Russia’s invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend the summit in person for the first time since the war began, after delivering a prerecorded speech last year.
Ahead of his appearance at the weeklong summit, Zelenskyy on Monday visited Staten Island University Hospital, where wounded Ukrainian military members are being treated.
The Ukrainian president presented the Order of Merit to Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health, the hospital’s parent company, as well as Eugene Holuka and physical therapists Rebecca Gonzalez and Peter Leone.
In addition to Northwell Health launching telemedicine services in Ukraine, Staten Island University Hospital has treated a number of military members with amputated limbs, providing state-of-the-art prosthetics.
“Thank you very much to everybody, to our soldiers and their relatives. I see some of them sitting here with their wives, sisters, and mothers. Thank you to the staff and doctors who gave them the possibility for one dream: to live and to come back to us – home. Thank you very much for your support,” Zelenskyy said.
The White House has requested an additional $24 billion in aid for Ukraine, and hoped it would be included in a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown while budget negotiations continue. Some Republicans in the House of Representatives are holding firm against any further aid to Ukraine, though the funding has bipartisan support in the Senate.
Excerpts of Biden’s speech released ahead of his address center on upholding the “core principles of the UN Charter” in the face of “naked aggression” from Russia.
“This speech is essential to explain the case for supporting Ukraine to both foreign and domestic audiences,” said Stephen Blank, Senior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council and noted expert on Russia.
“Biden has failed to address this issue frequently enough to build support outside of NATO and the EU for our policy,” Blank said.
“He needs to make this case with clarity and vigor because Putin, by invading Ukraine, has placed a landmine under any concept of international order or security,” Blank said. “Failure to gain support against Putin leaves the world, not just Ukraine or Europe, vulnerable to many new wars across the globe.”
Russia will not be present at the UNGA. Other notable absences include China, the U.K. and France.
Also on Tuesday, Biden will also meet with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, in the first joint meeting between the central Asian nations and a U.S. president.
On Wednesday, Biden is scheduled for meetings with Brazilian President Lula da Silva as well as Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel.
On Thursday, Zelenskyy is scheduled to travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with Biden at the White House and visit Capitol Hill.
TMX contributed to this article.
