Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told President Joe Biden ‘I need ammunition, not a ride,’ when offered the chance of a US-backed evacuation.
Zelensky said in response to the offer of refuge: ‘The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,’ according to a senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation, who described Zelensky as upbeat.
He spoke as Biden authorized the release of $350million of military assistance to Ukraine after taking his latest weekend break to Delaware as Russian troops began to invade Kyiv.
Invading Russian forces closed in on Ukraine´s capital on Saturday, in an apparent encircling movement after a barrage of airstrikes on cities and military bases around the country.
A second Russian Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane was shot down near Bila Tserkva, 50 miles south of Kyiv, according to two American officials with direct knowledge of conditions on the ground in Ukraine. Each of the two planes can carry up to 200 troops, although a death toll has not been shared.
Earlier, Zelensky said in a televised speech: ‘This night they will launch an assault. The enemy will use all of their power on all fronts to break our defense. This night we have to stand ground. The fate of Ukraine is being decided now.’
This came after a video showed him in his military tent drinking coffee with his men, he personally coordinated the defense of Kyiv.
He spoke Saturday morning in Kyiv, having survived the night, and said: ‘There’s a lot of fake news online that I called on our army to lay down arms, & that there’s evacuation. I’m here. We will defend our state.’
On Friday night, Biden traveled home to Delaware for a weekend break as Ukraine burns after Russia invaded.
Biden has access to technology that allows him to work from his luxury home in Rehoboth Beach, and will be following the latest developments in Ukraine from there.
The United States has imposed a raft of punitive financial sanctions against Russia in a bid to try and deter Vladimir Putin from continuing to invade Ukraine.
But thus far, the Russian premier – whose personal fortune has been estimated by Forbes to sit at $200 billion – has not been deterred.
The US has provided Ukraine with considerable military hardware, and thus far Zelensky’s forces appear to have slowed the Russian onslaught.
But Kremlin troops had entered Ukraine in the early hours of Saturday morning, and it is feared the capital city could fall to Putin later on Saturday.
Pentagon efforts to try and stop the war from flaring were slick, but ultimately unsuccessful.
This is an excerpt from Daily Mail.
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