Biden, allies to announce plans to bolster Ukraine’s military

President Biden on Wednesday will announce plans for the U.S. and Group of Seven (G7) allies to provide long-term security commitments to Ukraine to ensure its military is capable of fending off Russia, the White House said.

Biden and allies will make a “major announcement” alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the conclusion of the NATO summit this week in Lithuania, Amanda Sloat, the senior director for Europe at the National Security Council, told reporters.

“The United States, along with G7 leaders, will announce our intent to help Ukraine build a military that can defend itself and deter a future attack,” Sloat said.

The announcement will launch a process for a series of negotiations with Ukraine to reach bilateral security commitments, Sloat said. The process “will ensure that the military assistance we provide Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression continues to be part of a long-term investment in Ukraine’s future force,” she added.

Sloat noted that the message will make clear Russia will not simply be able to wait out Ukrainian forces. 

The announcement comes as Biden is set to meet one-on-one with Zelensky and deliver remarks detailing U.S. support for Ukraine in the roughly 17 months since Russian forces invaded the country.

It also comes after Zelensky on Tuesday expressed frustration about the skepticism from Biden and some other world leaders about Ukraine joining NATO, a move Biden has said should wait until after the war with Russia has ended.

“It seems there is no readiness neither to invite Ukraine to NATO nor to make it a member of the alliance,” Zelensky said. “This means that a window of opportunity is being left to bargain Ukraine’s membership in NATO in negotiations with Russia. And for Russia, this means motivation to continue its terror.”

The U.S. has already allocated billions of dollars in military and financial support to Ukraine in the year and a half since Russia invaded, and Biden has pledged his administration will support the Ukrainians for as long as it takes to end the war.

But some Republicans in Congress have opposed a “blank check” policy of sending aid to Ukraine, and leading GOP presidential candidates, such as former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have signaled they would roll back U.S. support for Ukraine if elected.