Joe Biden Will Meet Ukrainian President In Normandy
JAKARTA - United States (US) President Joe Biden will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky while in Normandy, France, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
"When he is in Normandy, he will have the opportunity to sit with President Zelensky and discuss with him to discuss things in Ukraine and how we can continue and deepen our support for Ukraine," Sullivan told reporters on his way to France.
Biden and Zelensky will be in France to commemorate 80 years of D-Day, a moment that is even more appropriate given that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused large-scale land warfare to return to Europe for the first time since 1945.
Also attending the commemoration were historic sea-cross-invasion veterans as well as many other heads of state and government including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. CNN previously reported Russian President Vladimir Putin did not accept the invitation, according to French presidential sources.
Sullivan said Biden was also expected to meet Zelensky at a G7 meeting in Italy next week.
In more than a week, the president will hold two substantive meetings with President Zelensky, Sullivan said.
The two leaders last met face-to-face when Zelensky was in Washington, DC, in December 2023 to submit a request for military and economic assistance in person.
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Biden in April 2024 signed a bill providing more than USD 60 billion in aid to the US ally after several months of political disputes on Capitol Hill.
This delay made Ukrainian troops lose significantly in the face of Russia, which launched a surprise attack on the northeastern region of Kharkiv last month.
Sullivan said the US plans to announce a substantial delivery of additional capabilities to Ukraine, but he explained the US would not send military personnel to the country, even in training capacity.
I would like to show that the United States has built substantial training infrastructure in Germany. They have trained thousands of Ukrainian soldiers with Western-made equipment. We are ready to continue and expand the training," he told reporters. We have communicated it directly to the Ukrainian side.