Standing alongside Zelenskyy, Biden pledges to aid Ukraine 'as long as it takes'

In an extraordinary face-to-face meeting at the White House Wednesday, President Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the United States "will stay with you as long as it takes" as the country enters what promises to be a brutal winter of war with Russia.

Biden pledged "unequivocal and unbending support," saying the U.S. will give Ukraine the Patriot Missile battery the country has requested to counter Russian missile and air attacks and much more.

Biden said he was not worried the move would escalate tensions with Russia because "it's a defensive weapon system," designed only to shoot down incoming threats.

And he took a swipe at Russian President Vladimir Putin for targeting civilians, saying he and Zelenskyy want the war to end while Putin wants to keep it going.

“It could end today if Putin had any dignity at all, did the right thing, and just pulled out," Biden said, before acknowledging that was unlikely.

"We understand in our bones that Ukraine’s fight is part of something much bigger," Biden said at a joint press conference after their meeting.