Biden Lost His Temper After Zelenksy Asked for More Aid Just Days After Getting $1 Billion, Per Report
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President Joe Biden reportedly lost his temper after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked for more U.S. assistance just days after $1 billion in aid was approved.
NBC News, citing four sources familiar with the situation, reported on Monday that during the June 15 phone call, “Biden had barely finished telling Zelenskyy he’d just greenlighted another $1 billion in U.S. military assistance for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion, which started on Feb. 24, when Zelenskyy started listing all the additional help he needed and wasn’t getting. Biden lost his temper.”
Biden remarked that Zelensky should be more appreciative of what the United States was doing for the Eastern European country, according to the report, which was written by correspondents Carol E. Lee and Courtney Kube and reporter Dan De Luce. Nonetheless, the relationship between the two leaders “has only improved since the June phone call, after which Zelenskyy made a statement praising the U.S. for its generous assistance.”
The United States has allocated $16.2 million in security assistance for Ukraine, according to the Department of Defense. However, the United States has rebuffed Ukraine’s request for rocket systems that can launch missiles to go approximately 200 miles, and it has refused to facilitate a transfer of MiG fighter jets.
Although Biden lost his temper, “Biden was direct with Zelenskyy about handling the issues in the appropriate military channels but that the exchange wasn’t heated or angry.” However, ahead of the call, “the president’s frustrations with Zelenskyy had been building for weeks,” according to the report, citing “three people familiar with the call.”
Lee, Kube, and De Luce, citing “two sources familiar with the Ukraine government’s view, congressional aides and two European officials,” reported that “after the pushback, Zelenskyy got in their June phone call, his team decided to try to defuse tensions, concluding it wasn’t productive to have friction with the U.S. president.”
Zelensky has repeatedly expressed appreciation for U.S. assistance, and the aftermath of the June call was no exception.
“I had an important conversation with U.S. President Biden today,” he said. “I am grateful for this support. It is especially important for our defense in Donbas.”
