Biden: US will support Ukraine ‘as long as it takes’ to win war

President Biden on Thursday said the U.S. and its allies would provide support “as long as it takes” for Ukraine to win its war against Russia. 

“We are going to stick with Ukraine, and all of the alliance is going to stick with Ukraine as long as it takes to in fact make sure that they are not defeated … in Ukraine by Russia,” Biden told reporters at a press conference at the NATO summit. 

Ukraine has been fighting back against Russia’s advances since Moscow first launched its invasion in February. The United States has provided billions of dollars in military equipment to help Ukraine hold its territory in the months since. 

But as the deaths stack up and the fighting drags on, some leaders have questioned how the war will end. Multiple news outlets reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Group of Seven (G-7) leaders this week that he hoped the war would be over by the end of the year amid concerns about harsh winter conditions making the fight tougher for Ukrainian troops. 

Biden told reporters on Thursday that he hopes the war ends “sooner rather than later,” but acknowledged Ukrainians had to be in a position of strength for that to happen. Biden said the U.S. would be providing another $800 billion in funding to further aid Ukraine in its fight. 

“We’re supplying them with the capacity and the overwhelming courage they’ve demonstrated that in fact they can continue to resist the Russian aggression,” Biden said. “I don’t know how it’s going to end but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine.”