Biden warns Cabinet that Russia ‘not letting up’ on Ukraine

President Biden on Thursday warned that the war in Ukraine is reaching a “critical point” as he urged members of his Cabinet to pull out all the stops to aid Kyiv in its fight against Russia’s invasion.

The president told his top officials that Russians are “not letting up.”

“Right now the war in Ukraine is at a critical point,” Mr. Biden said. “We have to do everything we can to help the Ukrainians resist Russian aggression.”

Mr. Biden convened the meeting with his Cabinet at the White House on Thursday for the first time since October, as the administration moves to implement key legislation passed last year.

Before the meeting, Mr. Biden spoke by phone with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about the war in Ukraine.

“In light of Russia’s ongoing missile and drone attacks against Ukraine‘s critical infrastructure, President Biden and Chancellor Scholz affirmed their intention to further support Ukraine‘s urgent requirement for air defense capabilities,” the White House said.

As part of that increased support, Mr. Biden said he will send Bradley Fighting Vehicles, an armored personnel carrier designed to protect troops from enemy fire, to Ukraine in response to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plea for additional armored support.

“I assure you that Ukrainian soldiers can perfectly operate American tanks and planes for themselves,” Mr. Zelenskyy said last month in an address to lawmakers during his visit to Washington.

While the Bradley is not a tank, such as the M-1 Abrams requested by Mr. Zelenskyy, it is armed with a 25 mm chain gun and a TOW missile launcher capable of taking out most tanks.

• Mike Glenn contributed to this story.