US President Biden will receive Ukrainian President Zelensky at the White House today. Even before the meeting, the 81-year-old made significant announcements – including about his trip to Germany.
US President Joe Biden releases billions in aid to Kiev before a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and invites people to a leadership-level Ukraine meeting in Germany in October. The so-called contact group, which is led by the USA, is intended to discuss further military aid in support of Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia, as the White House announced. Biden is traveling to Germany in mid-October.
Biden in Germany in mid-October
The format is also called the Ramstein Group because the meetings often take place at the US Air Force Base Ramstein in Rhineland-Palatinate. Biden is also expected to visit Ramstein after a stop in Berlin. The White House did not name a location in Germany for the high-level Ukraine meeting – but Ramstein would be an obvious possibility.
The Ukraine Contact Group includes around 50 states. The defense ministers of the member countries normally take part in the regular discussions. In recent days there has been speculation that Biden wants to host a meeting of the group at the level of heads of state and government. The US President’s goal is now to coordinate the efforts of the participating countries for Ukraine, according to the White House. The USA and Germany are Ukraine’s largest arms suppliers.
Billions of dollars in military aid
Biden also released more than seven billion euros in military aid for Ukraine before the meeting with Zelensky. The package includes another Patriot anti-aircraft system, long-range glide bombs and drones. The majority of the new aid comes from US military stocks. A good two billion euros will be made available through a program that allows the US government to buy weapons for Ukraine from companies. The US government had previously announced that it would once again provide Ukraine with controversial cluster munitions.
“It has been one of my administration’s top priorities to give Ukraine the support it needs to win,” said Biden, who will leave office in about three months. Zelenskyj immediately thanked the USA for the new aid. “We will use this support in the most efficient and transparent way possible,” promised the head of state on Telegram.
Meeting with Biden and Harris
In the morning (local time), Zelensky met in the US Congress in Washington with the leaders of both parties in the Senate, Democrat Chuck Schumer and Republican Mitch McConnell. US President Biden will receive his Ukrainian colleague at the White House at around 1:45 p.m. local time (7:45 p.m. German time). In the conversation, the Ukrainian wants to present details of his “victory plan” for Ukraine.
Later, Zelensky will also meet with US Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running for the Democrats in the presidential election on November 5th against Republican Donald Trump. The Ukrainian president had actually announced that he also wanted to meet Trump during his time in the USA. Such a meeting is now considered unlikely.
“We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal,” Trump said of Zelensky at a campaign rally in North Carolina on Wednesday, criticizing the Ukrainian for not making a deal with Moscow to end the war in Ukraine “Any deal, even the worst deal, would have been better than what we have now,” said Trump.
Worried about Trump
There are fears in Ukraine that the United States could largely be eliminated as the country’s most important supporter in the defense against Russia if Trump wins the presidential election in November. The USA is supporting Ukraine in its defense against Russia on a large scale.
At the beginning of the week in New York, Biden and international partners reaffirmed their determination to help Ukraine rebuild. “We are committed to providing Ukraine with the resources it needs to become stronger than before,” he said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. During a meeting in New York, Zelensky spoke to Biden about the peace plan, according to the White House.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
