As tensions between the US and the Kremlin over US military shipments escalate, President Joe Biden met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine on Friday in Paris.
For the first time, Biden apologized in public for the months-long lapse in US military assistance, which Russia has used to make significant gains on the battlefield. Along with that, he unveiled a new $225 million armaments package that included artillery ammo, air defense interceptors, and other vital equipment.
Biden assured Zelenskyy, “I promise the United States will stand with you.” “We remain fully involved,” he continued.
The Ukrainian leader retorted, “We count on your continued support and staying with us, shoulder to shoulder.”
At a risky moment when its allies allowed Ukraine to perform some strikes inside Russia using Western weaponry, the military of Kyiv is under pressure from a fresh Russian offensive in the north and intense attacks in the east. This is why the summit is taking place in the capital of France.
It also covers the festivities commemorating D-Day’s 80th anniversary in Normandy, which Zelenskyy visited and where Biden drew comparisons between Ukraine’s present conflict with Russia and that crucial struggle to liberate Europe from Nazi rule.
In December, Biden and Zelenzkyy had a meeting at the White House as the Ukrainian leader visited to urge Congress to authorize additional military help for his beleaguered soldiers fighting on the front lines. However, Kyiv is becoming increasingly irritated with the military aid’s slow pace and the ongoing restrictions on its use of the weapons it has been given.
Kyiv received a boost on Thursday from French President Emmanuel Macron, who is hosting the two leaders.
He declared that, though specifics were not immediately obvious, France would train a brigade of Ukrainian soldiers and supply its Mirage combat planes.
After the decision to permit Ukraine to deploy limited amounts of weaponry supplied by the West to strike military targets inside Russian border regions, tensions between Moscow and Kyiv’s supporters have reached an unprecedented height.
Zelenskyy is aiming for more, but Kyiv’s forces are still outgunned and outnumbered despite this change.
He has previously stated that the slight relaxation of constraints is insufficient, since it is believed that Ukraine is keen to employ additional long-range Western weapons to penetrate further into enemy territory.
That being said, the Kremlin is furious over the newfound backing for Ukraine. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, stated on Wednesday that Washington and its allies were mistaken to believe he would never use nuclear weapons and that he could arm nations that could retaliate by striking the West.
Putin is expected to discuss the same subjects when he speaks later on Friday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
His forces have been stranded in the border region of Kharkiv since they started a fresh attack last month, greatly taxing the meager resources of the Ukrainian army. It seems Kyiv has succeeded in stopping the onslaught, even though Russia claimed some villages in the early going.
On Friday, Zelenskyy informed Biden that American policies had “a very positive influence” on the area.
In a Thursday interview, Biden hinted that Washington is still on the cautious side, stressing that Kiev is still unable to launch an attack deep into Russia with American weapons in order to, say, hit Moscow or the Kremlin.
Nevertheless, he rhetorically supported Kyiv’s cause and made a clear analogy to the Allied struggle against Adolf Hitler.
Biden referred to Putin as “a tyrant bent on domination” during his remarks earlier on Thursday at the D-Day celebration held at the Normandy American Cemetery.
Speaking of American support for Europe’s current conflict in front of World War II soldiers, he declared, “We will not walk away.” “Because Ukraine will be subjugated if we do.”
On Friday, Biden gave a second speech near Pointe du Hoc, the Normandy cliffs that divide the beaches where American Marines landed on D-Day, repeating the words of former President Ronald Reagan. This speech focused on democracy and freedom.
Biden was hardly the first American to compare the conflict in Ukraine to World War II.
Zelenskyy and a US soldier had a heartfelt moment together on Thursday, giving each other hugs and saying “thank you.”
The veteran proclaimed, “You are the people’s savior.” In response, Zelenskyy said, “No, you saved Europe.”