Biden says Ukraine’s surprise invasion of Russia is ‘creating a real dilemma for Putin,’ US in ‘constant contact’ with Kyiv
President Biden said Tuesday that Ukraine’s surprise counter-invasion of Russia is “creating a real dilemma” for Russian President Vladimir Putin — and that the American government is in “constant contact” with Kyiv.
Biden, 81, offered his first substantial remarks on Ukraine’s stunning battlefield gains during a gaggle with reporters under the wing of Air Force One as he arrived in New Orleans to tout federal cancer research funding.
“I have spoken with my staff on a regular basis, probably every four or five hours for the last six or eight days and it’s creating a real dilemma for Putin,” Biden said.
“And we’ve been in direct contact, constant contact with the Ukrainians. That’s all I’m going to say about it while it’s active.”
Biden and most US officials deflected prior questions about the eight-day Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region north of Kharkiv — which Russian authorities have struggled to contain amid deepening gains by Ukraine.
The incursion is believed to be an effort by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to gain leverage ahead of possible peace negotiations. It also forced Putin to divert troops from inside Ukraine back to Russia to protect their own territory.
US officials last week deflected press questions on the latest fighting by saying they were trying to learn more — though administration actions indicated a lack of US disapproval.
On Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $125 million in new US military aid to Ukraine, including air defense systems, rockets, artillery munitions and anti-tank weapons.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby demurred Friday when asked about the counteroffensive.
“We’re in touch with our Ukrainian counterparts, and we are working to gain a better understanding of what they’re doing, what their goals are, what their strategy is, and I’m going to leave a little bit of space for us to have those conversations before I try to characterize what’s going on,” Kirby said.
Biden previously relaxed American constraints on equipment donated to Ukraine. In May, Biden allowed Ukraine to use US missiles for limited cross-border strikes on Russian staging locations for airstrikes.
The incursion is a major embarrassment to Putin — who also struggled last year to contain an audacious cross-border insurrection by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who alleged Kremlin incompetence in waging Putin’s invasion of Ukraine since February 2022.
Ukraine’s counter-invasion of Russia comes as the Nov. 5 US presidential election could alter American policy in the conflict — with former President Donald Trump vowing to negotiate an end to the war before taking office Jan. 20, which Zelensky has said he fears would mean harsh Ukrainian concessions.
Congress in April approved $60.8 billion in aid for Ukraine to resist the Russian invasion — on top of $113 billion appropriated earlier in the conflict — but Trump also has groused about the amount of foreign aid being dispensed.
