‘Americans prepared to stand up to bullies’: Joe Biden ‘not worried’ about international support for Ukraine
The US will continue to back Ukraine in its fight against Russia for “as long as it takes”, President Joe Biden has said while outlining further military support.
In a news conference at the White House, and stood at a podium next to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he paid tribute to Ukrainians’ “steel backbone, love of country and unbreakable determination to choose their own path”.
And he said: “American people are prepared to have us stand up to bullies, stand up for freedom. That’s who we are.”
Mr Biden said that Ukraine has “defied Russia’s expectations at every turn” and he went on: “The American people are with you every step of the way and we will stay with you… for as long as it takes.”
“Together we will keep the flame of liberty burning bright,” he added.
Mr Zelenskyy thanked the US and the American people for their support, in particular the Patriot surface-to-air missile defence system, saying that “every dollar of this investment for the US is going to be strengthening global security”.
“This is the only way that we can deprive the terrorist state of its main instrument of terror – the possibility to hit our cities, our energy,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
Mr Biden said the Patriot system is “a defensive system, it’s not escalatory, it’s defensive”
The US president and Secretary of State Antony Blinken had earlier said the United States would provide $1.85bn in additional military assistance for Ukraine, which includes a transfer of the Patriot system.
The Ukrainian president said during the conference that his country’s defence capabilities will be strengthened in the coming months but would not give further details, and he said Russia needs to be held accountable for its actions.
Mr Zelenskyy, on his first known trip outside his country since Russia invaded in February, was asked by a reporter what was his message to the American people. He replied: “My message: I wish you peace.
“To be together with us, because we really fight for our common victory against this tyranny… and we will win. And I really want to win together. Not want, sorry… I’m sure.”
Mr Zelenskyy also said the war would end once Ukraine’s sovereignty, freedom and territorial integrity were restored, as well as the “payback for all the damages inflicted by Russian aggression”.
Earlier, during a fireside welcome in the White House, Mr Zelenskyy gave Mr Biden a medal that had originally been awarded to a Ukrainian military captain for bravery. The captain said he wanted the US president to get it for his support of Ukraine.
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President Zelenskyy gave Mr Biden a medal in the Oval Office
Receiving the medal, Mr Biden said: “Oh God love you… undeserved but much appreciated.”
The highly sensitive trip is taking place after 10 months of a brutal war that has seen tens of thousands of casualties on both sides and devastation for Ukrainian civilians
Shortly after arriving in the US, Mr Zelenskyy posted on his Telegram account about his determination to win the war with Russia, writing: “Next year, we must return the Ukrainian flag and freedom to our entire land, to all our people.”
The United States has so far sent around $50bn (£41bn) in assistance to the Kyiv government as it defends itself against an invasion by Russia that began 10 months ago.
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Zelenskyy and Biden laugh together
Former UK ambassador to Ukraine Leigh Turner told Sky News Mr Zelenskyy’s primary goal is to combat fatigue from supporting countries for what could be a “long and grinding war”.
He said: “At the beginning, everybody was supporting Ukraine, every Western government and the people of Britain and the US were strongly supporting Ukraine, from providing arms and taking in refugees into their homes.
“Ten months later winter is drawing on, there are a lot of other crises… and even some US lawmakers mostly from the Republican Party have been voting against providing more aid to Ukraine.”
President Biden said he was “not at all worried” about holding together an international coalition supporting Ukraine and said he had never seen the NATO alliance or the European Union more united.
“I see no sign of there being any change. We all know what’s at stake here,” he said.
Former US president Joe Biden has prostate cancer, his office has said.
The statement said Mr Biden, who left the White House in January, is reviewing options for treatment with his physicians.
It read: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.
“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.
“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
File pic: Reuters
According to Cancer Research UK, a Gleason score of 9 means the cancerous cells “look very abnormal” and the disease is “likely to grow quickly”.
A source familiar with Mr Biden and his family’s thinking has told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that the former president is considering “multiple treatment options” – including hormone treatment for the cancer.
They added he is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and that as of now, it is unclear where the former president will be treated.
Mr Biden, 82, was the oldest person to ever serve as president, with concerns about his health raised regularly during his campaign for re-election last year.
After a poor debate against Donald Trump in June, he withdrew from the 2024 election and endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris.
In February 2023, he had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.
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A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.
The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.
The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.
Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.
Pic: AP
The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.
The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.
Pic: AP
Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.
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One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.
The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.
The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.
Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.
The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”
It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.
“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.
The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.
“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.
Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).
A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.
The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.
Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.
Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”
Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.
California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.
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