Biden says war in Ukraine is good for American jobs

President Biden spoke in Troy, Alabama on Tuesday to praise weapons makers for delivering the munitions and arms necessary for Ukraine to take up their fight against Russia's invading forces. He also spoke about his ask for Congress to authorize more funding for weapons for Ukraine, which would enable US munitions factories to create more weapons, which would mean more jobs in arms manufacturing.

"Being the arsenal of democracy also means good paying jobs for American workers," Biden told constituents while touting the war effort in Ukraine.

"In Alabama, in states all across America, where defense equipment is manufactured and assembled, 265 people here at this plant are directly employed working on the Javelin program," he said.

"All told, Lockheed Martin has brought nearly 3,000 jobs to Alabama. The Armed Forces of the United States is going to continue to be the best armed, most capable fighting force in the history of the world. In order to do that, we need to make sure our vital defense supplies are getting the inputs and supplies they need to produce, to protect, and provide the full capacity," he said.

As of April 12, the US has sent thousands of Javelin missiles to Ukraine. Biden said with pride that some parents in Ukraine are naming their children Javelin after the US weapons that are helping Ukraine fight Russia.

Biden spoke about those weapons, saying that they are "some of the best and most effective weapons in our arsenal."

"They are highly portable, extremely effective against a wide range of armored targets. They can hit targets up to 400 meters away, and have a firing capability," he said.

Biden said that Ukraine would not be able to fight their Russian aggressors without the help of the US, and US funded and made weapons. "A big part of the reason they've been able to keep up fighting," he said, "and to make this a strategic failure for Russia is because the United States and other allies and partners have had their back."

"The United States alone has committed more than 5,500 Javelins to Ukraine, you're changing the nation," he told the arms makers, "you really are."

Biden said that the US has also sent a huge number of additional weapons, from anti-tank, and anti-air weapons, to helicopters, armored vehicles, and coastal defense systems. In fact, Biden said that the US made sure Ukraine was well-stocked with this military capability even before they invasion, so that they'd be ready for it when the time came.

"We've made sure that there are no interruptions in the flow of equipment," Biden said. "Since Russia invaded Ukraine just over two months ago, we have sent more than $3 billion in security assistance to Ukraine alone, us, not counting our allies."

"That money is a direct investment in defending freedom and democracy itself," Biden said, "Because if you don't stand up to dictators, history has shown us they keep coming. They keep coming. Their appetite for power continues to grow.

"And every worker in this facility and every American taxpayer is directly contributing to the case for freedom, and that's something we can all be incredibly proud of, in my view."