Biden announces US$225 million in new aid for Ukraine at D-Day commemorations
PARIS: US President Joe Biden on Friday (Jun 7) pledged his support for Ukraine and announced another US$225 million in security aid to Kyiv as he met Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks in Paris.
"The United States will stand with you," Biden told Zelenskyy after both attended hugely symbolic D-Day commemorations in northern France on Thursday. Biden also expressed regret for the delay in getting new aid through Congress.
"You haven't bowed down. You haven't yielded at all. You continue to fight in a way that is just remarkable, just remarkable," Biden told Zelenskyy.
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The new package includes air defence interceptors, artillery ammunition and other "critical capabilities", the White House said in a statement.
"The president emphasized that US support for Ukraine is unwavering," the statement said, adding that the two leaders agreed to meet again at the coming G7 summit in Italy.
In a separate statement, the US Department of Defense said the security package would provide Ukraine with weapons to "meet its most urgent battlefield needs" and include Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, ammunition for HIMARS systems, and 155 mm and 105 mm artillery rounds.
Zelenskyy was also set to hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron later Friday.
Macron said on Thursday that Paris would transfer Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine and train Ukrainian pilots as part of a new military cooperation.
