Standing in front of stacks of Javelin missiles at an Alabama factory, President Joe Biden told workers assembling the weapon, which has been wreaking havoc on Russian tanks in Ukraine, that they are part of a historic battle for democracy.
"These weapons touched by the hands, your hands, are in the hands of Ukrainian heroes, making a significant difference," Biden said at the Lockheed Martin facility in Troy, Alabama, which has produced more than 50,000 of the tank-busting rockets in the last two decades.
Biden told workers they should be "proud" of their role in the mammoth US and allied Western push to arm Ukraine in its struggle against Russian invasion.
With the West's help, Ukraine's forces are "making fools of the Russian military in many instances," he said.
Biden called on Congress to pass quickly his request for a mammoth new aid package worth $33 billion -- the majority of that in more weaponry and some of the funds going simply to replenishing the US military's own stocks.
"This fight is not going to be cheap, but caving to aggression would be even more costly," Biden said.
- Wider war for democracy -
So far, the United States has shipped 5,500 Javelins to Ukraine, part of more than $3 billion in military aid since the start of the war in February.