Biden travels to Berlin for summit with European leaders

CORRECTION: President Biden is traveling to Germany on Thursday. An earlier version of this story misstated the timing of his arrival.

President Biden is traveling to Germany on Thursday after postponing travel for a week because of Hurricane Milton striking the U.S.

Biden will participate in a leaders-level summit of the European Quad — Germany, France and the United Kingdom — to discuss support for Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia, and efforts to stabilize escalating conflicts in the Middle East.

“Germany has been an incredibly close ally and partner over the past few decades, and has risen to the moment in the last three plus years of this administration,” a senior administration official told reporters Wednesday evening in a call previewing the president’s travel. 

Germany is the second-biggest donor to Ukraine in military assistance behind the U.S., and in February announced it had increased its defense budget to 2 percent of gross domestic product, in line with pledges by NATO heads of state during the 2014 Wales summit.

But Ukrainian officials and Ukraine’s most hawkish supporters criticize both the German government and the Biden administration for being too cautious in providing military and political support to Ukraine.

Biden’s delayed travel to Germany resulted in the postponing of a leader-level meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a consortium of 50-plus nations coordinating military support for Kyiv, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was expected to push partners on providing the support he needs to fulfill his “victory plan” against Russia’s aggression.

Biden spoke with Zelensky on Wednesday and announced a $425 million military aid package, with more packages expected to be announced over the coming months. 

But the Biden administration has held back on key asks from Zelensky that are outlined in his plan, including NATO issuing an invitation for Ukraine to join the alliance, and lifting bans on the use of U.S. and other foreign-provided weapons to strike deep into Russian territory. 

“There is an active conversation about the different elements of the plan that were laid out by President Zelensky,” the senior administration official said, adding that while NATO allies are discussing Ukraine’s request for a NATO invitation, “there’s not a consensus at this time.”

“The urgency of the moment is certainly appreciated, which is why the president is leading this effort to supply Ukraine with the equipment that it needs, and to, frankly, take seriously all of the elements that are being proposed by the Ukrainians and to work with them on a strategy to secure their victory in this war,” the official said.

“President Biden wants Ukraine to win, and we’re going to resource this effort appropriately.”

Updated at 9:07 a.m. EDT