Biden apologizes to Zelenskyy.. Why?

For the first time, US President Joe Biden apologized to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday for holding up US military aid for months, allowing Russia to make gains on the battlefield.

Speaking in Paris, where both attended ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day operations, Biden told Zelenskyy that he apologized to the Ukrainian people for weeks of not knowing whether more aid would be forthcoming while Congress waited six months before sending the $61 billion military aid package Biden ordered to Ukraine.

D-Day Anniversary

However, Biden insisted that the American people stand with Ukraine for the long term.

He added that the United States is by far Kyiv’s biggest supporter in wartime.

Biden and Zelenskyy attended ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, northern France, on Thursday, alongside European leaders who have supported Kyiv’s war efforts.

Biden pledged that his country would not walk away from Ukraine, noting that Europe's struggle in the past was to liberate itself from Nazi domination, and today to repel Russian aggression, according to his claim.

While this shortage of weapons came after the suspension of US military aid in Congress for six months before Biden signed a $61 billion military aid package to Ukraine in April.

Russian attack continues

It is noteworthy that this apology comes at a time when Ukraine is trying to repel an intensive Russian attack in the eastern regions of the country.

The campaign is focused on the Ukrainian border regions of Kharkiv and Donetsk, but Ukrainian officials say it may spread more widely as the larger Russian army seeks to exploit its superiority.

The attack also seeks to exploit Kyiv's shortage of ammunition and troops along the nearly 1,000-kilometer front line.

With the Ukrainian army reeling in the midst of the latest Russian attack, some NATO allies, including the United States, said last week that they would allow Ukraine to use the weapons they deliver to Kyiv to carry out limited attacks inside Russia.

The move sparked an angry response from the Kremlin, which warned that Europe's biggest conflict since World War II could spiral out of control.