Biden Still Has No Plans of Sending US Troops to Ukraine: Official
The United States will not change its decision to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia, a high-ranking US official told a special online briefing.
During the event, devoted to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s upcoming visit to Washington, the official was asked whether Biden’s decision to meet with Zelensky in the White House and provide more US military assistance to the Kiev government meant that Washington was ready to be "more deeply involved" in the Ukrainian crisis, TASS reported.
"The (US) president has been very clear from the beginning. He hasn't wavered from it, and he won't waver from it tomorrow, or next month, or next year that the United States is not sending forces to Ukraine to directly fight the Russians. What we are sending instead is billions, now tens of billions of dollars worth of military equipment and supplies to help Ukrainians defend themselves," the official said.
He said that the armed forces of Ukraine will get one Patriot battery from the United States.
"We will train Ukrainians in a third country to operate that battery. Once trained, they will go in with the battery to man it in Ukraine. It won't be US personnel who are doing that, and nothing will change in that regard," the official said.
According to the official, Biden "is going to reinforce that the key now is to demonstrate not just through words, but through resources and through the support we are actively giving that we will stand by Ukraine as long as it takes."
It will be Zelensky’s second visit to the US as the president of Ukraine, and the first one since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.