Joe Biden hosts Zelenskyy at White House; announces new military aid package for Ukraine
Ukraine, President Joe Biden has announced as he hosted his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House and vowed to defend the war-struck country from Russian aggression. The White House meeting on Thursday was the sixth in-person meeting between the two leaders.
«Mr.
President, the brave people of Ukraine — and that's not hyperbole; the people of Ukraine have shown enormous bravery and have inspired the world with their determination to defend these principles,» Biden told Zelenskyy in the Oval Office of the White House.
«Together with our partners and allies, the American people are determined to see to it that we do all we can to ensure the world stands with you, and that is our overwhelming objective right now,» he said, welcoming the Ukrainian leader for the third time at the White House this year.
«Our regular dialogue has proved that our countries are really, truly allies and strategic friends. And we greatly appreciate the vital assistance provided by the United States to Ukraine to combat Russian terror,» Zelenskyy said.
Reiterating his pledge to defend Ukraine's sovereignty, Biden said during the bilateral meeting later that the US will continue to support Ukraine's diplomatic effort to deliver a just and lasting peace that protects its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
«Russia alone stands in the way of peace.
It could end today. Instead, Russia is seeking more weapons from Iran and North Korea.
It would violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions that Moscow itself voted to put in place,» he said.
Biden announced the next tranche of US security assistance worth USD 325 million to Ukraine, including more artillery, ammunition, and anti-tank weapons. «And next week, the first US
