What Does ‘As Long as It Takes’ Mean?
Happy Tuesday! Please give a warm welcome to Grayson Logue and Mary Trimble, the newest additions to the Morning Dispatch team!
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
- President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday, his first since Russia invaded Ukraine last February. While there, Biden announced a new $460 million security assistance package, tapping into previously approved congressional aid to send Ukraine Javelin anti-armor systems, Bradley vehicles, additional HIMARS and artillery ammunition, night vision devices, air surveillance radars, and other materiel. Biden also said the U.S. was preparing to impose additional sanctions on Russian individuals and companies, with particular pressure on Russia’s defense and energy sectors.
- At least six people were killed and more than 200 hospitalized on Monday when two additional earthquakes—magnitude 6.4 and 5.8—struck the Hatay province in southern Turkey. The latest tremors come just two weeks after Turkey and Syria were rocked by earthquakes that have killed more than 47,000 people.
What’s Next for Ukraine?
Every train ride is special to President Joe Biden, but he took a particularly unique one on Monday, traveling 10 hours from Poland to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky—and send a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Emerging from Kyiv’s blue and white St. Michael’s Cathedral as an air raid alarm sounded, Biden and Zelensky presented a united front against Russia’s ongoing attack. “When Putin launched his invasion nearly one year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided,” Biden said. “But he’s just been plain wrong. Plain wrong.”
It may not seem like it, but this week does indeed mark one year since Russia escalated its war against Ukraine, trying to overrun the country and topple its government in weeks and instead being rebuffed by determined Ukrainian defenders backed up with Western intelligence, funding, and weapons. That aid remains robust—the Pentagon on Monday announced a new drawdown of about $460 million in security assistance—but Ukrainian and Western leaders know this level of support can’t last forever and are starting to look for an endgame.
