Biden promises new Ukraine aid, warns Russia on chemical weapons

BRUSSELS (AP):

President Joe Biden and Western allies pledged new sanctions and humanitarian aid on Thursday in response to Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine, but their offers fell short of the more robust military assistance that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for in a pair of live-video appearances.

The leaders spent Thursday crafting their next steps to counter Russia’s month-old invasion – and huddling over how they might respond should Putin deploy chemical, biological or even a nuclear weapon. They met in a trio of emergency summits that had them shuttling across Brussels for back-to-back-to-back meetings of NATO, the Group of Seven (G-7) industrialised nations and the 27-member European Council.

Biden, in an early evening news conference after meeting with NATO and G-7 leaders, warned that a chemical attack by Russia “would trigger a response in kind”.

“You’re asking whether NATO would cross. We’d make that decision at the time,” Biden said.

However, a White House official said later that did not imply any shift in the US position against direct military action in Ukraine. Biden and NATO allies have previously stressed that the US and NATO would not put troops on the ground in Ukraine.

The official was not authorised to comment publicly by name and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Zelenskyy, while thankful for their help, made clear to the Western allies he needed far more than they’re currently willing to give.

“One per cent of all your planes, one per cent of all your tanks,” Zelenskyy asked members of the NATO alliance. “We can’t just buy those. When we will have all this, it will give us, just like you, 100 per cent security.”

Biden, who was attending all three summits, said more aid was on its way. But Western leaders also suggested they were treading carefully so as not to further escalate the conflict beyond the borders of Ukraine.

WORKING TO PREVENT ESCALATION

“NATO has made a choice to support Ukraine in this war without going to war with Russia,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. “Therefore, we have decided to intensify our ongoing work to prevent any escalation and to get organised in case there is an escalation.”

Billions of dollars of military hardware has already been provided. A US official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said Western nations were discussing the possibility of providing anti-ship weapons amid concerns that Russia will launch amphibious assaults along the Black Sea coast.

Biden said his top priority at Thursday’s meetings was to make certain that the West stayed on the same page in its response to Russian aggression against Ukraine.

“The single most important thing is for us to stay unified,” Biden said.

Separately, the White House announced the US would welcome 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and provide an additional $1 billion in food, medicine, water and other supplies.

Finland announced Thursday it would send more military equipment to Ukraine, its second shipment in about three weeks. And Belgium announced it will add one billion euros to its defence budget in response to Russia’s invasion.

At the same time, Washington will expand its sanctions on Russia, targeting members of the country’s parliament along with defence contractors. The US will also work with other Western nations to ensure gold reserves held by Russia’s central bank are subject to existing sanctions.

With Russia facing increasing international isolation, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also warned China against coming to Moscow’s rescue. He called on Beijing “to join the rest of the world and clearly condemn the brutal war against Ukraine and not support Russia”.

But Stoltenberg also made clear that the West had a “responsibility to prevent this conflict from becoming a full-fledged war in Europe”.

The possibility that Russia will use chemical or even nuclear weapons has been a grim topic of conversation in Brussels, but a possibility leaders were preparing for.