President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met separately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Thursday, with the foreign leader pushing to get approval from the U.S. and allies to use their weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory.
Zelenskyy was also set to lay out to Biden a plan for victory in the more than two and a half-year-old war.
But hanging over the Ukrainian leader’s latest visit to Washington was the 2024 election in less than six weeks, which could have significant implications for the future of U.S. support for the country amid its battle with Russia as the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, questions the amount of funds provided to Kyiv.
Biden on Thursday took steps to ensure he could leave Ukraine on the strongest footing possible when he exits the White House in four months. Along with a new $2.4 billion aid package, providing additional air defense, Unmanned Aerial Systems, and air-to-ground munitions, Biden announced that he had directed the Pentagon to allocate all remaining security assistance funding that was appropriated for Ukraine by the end of his term in January.
“And this will strengthen Ukraine's position in future negotiations,” Biden said during the pair’s brief remarks to the press ahead of their Oval Office meeting. “We’re making clear we stand with Ukraine now and in the future.”
Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, delivered remarks ahead of her own meeting with Zelenskyy in which she pledged to stand with Ukraine and reiterated her boss’ warnings that Russian President Vladimir Putin could go after other neighbors next should he be allowed to prevail in the war.
“So then, the United States supports Ukraine, not out of charity but because it is in our own strategic interest,” she said. “We will continue to provide the security assistance Ukraine needs to succeed on the battlefield as demonstrated by President Biden’s significant announcement earlier today.”
She also cautioned against the U.S. not sticking with allies on the world stage in what could be seen as a rebuke of Trump and some in the GOP who have followed him in taking on a more isolationist approach to foreign policy.
“History reminds us, and history is so clear in reminding us the United States cannot and should not isolate ourselves from the rest of the world,” Harris said. “Isolation is not insulation.”
Trump on Thursday said he plans to meet with Zelenskyy on Friday morning despite criticizing the Ukrainian leader during a rally in North Carolina on Wednesday.
“We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal, Zelenskyy,” Trump said at his North Carolina event this week.
Trump repeatedly has said he would get Zelenskyy and Putin together and settle the war between Russia and Ukraine, something the Ukrainian leader pushed back on in an interview with The New Yorker this week.
In the interview, Zelenskyy also criticized Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance as “too radical.”
The meeting also came as Zelenskyy has been pushing the U.S. to allow it to use the long-range weapons it provides Ukraine to strike farther into Russian territory.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during Thursday’s press briefing that she expected the topic to be discussed but did not anticipate any new announcements on it. Neither Biden nor Harris mentioned the topic during their remarks with Zelenskyy.
Earlier this month when asked about whether he would give Ukraine the go-ahead to use the long-range weapons in Russia, Biden told reporters: “We’re working that out right now."
The Biden administration in May announced it was signing off on Ukraine using American weapons to hit targets in a limited area of Russian territory, just across the two countries’ borders. At the time, the move marked a notable shift for the White House, which had long said it does not “encourage” or “enable” attacks by Ukraine on Russian soil using U.S.-provided weapons.
In an interview after that announcement, Biden appeared to draw a distinction between that and approving their use for attacks further into the country.
The U.S. and Western leaders have been cautious about sparking a wider war and Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened that direct involvement from the West could lead to nuclear conflict. Putin this week issued a fresh warning on the nuclear front.
Biden and Zelenskyy met briefly on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, where the White House said the Ukrainian leader “previewed” his plan for victory for the president.
At the top of his meeting with Zelenskyy on Thursday, the president mentioned the preview he had received the day before and added “that's exactly what we're going to discuss today and how can Ukraine prevail in this conflict.”
Biden said he saw “two key pieces,” listing them as strengthening Ukraine’s current position on the battlefield and helping the country succeed in the long term.
More than 30 countries and the European Union joined the U.S. on Wednesday in signing The Joint Declaration of Support for Recovery and Reconstruction of Ukraine, which seeks to reaffirm the countries’ commitments to hold Russia financially responsible for the damage it has caused, provide Kyiv with resources to build back stronger and prioritize coordination between countries to ensure that “each dollar goes as far as possible.”
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a $375 million package for Ukraine.