President Joe Biden is set to sign a deal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday that would lock the U.S. in a 10-year agreement supplying the European country with military assistance.
The decade-long U.S.-Ukraine agreement was first discussed by Zelensky in April, who said at the time that the countries were working to ensure “specific levels of support for this year and for the next ten years, including armed support, financial, political, and joint arms production.” U.S. officials said the new agreement guarantees that the U.S. would continue supporting Ukraine even if Donald Trump wins the 2024 election and gets sworn in for a second term in the White House, The Washington Post reported.
“We want to demonstrate that the U.S. supports the people of Ukraine, that we stand with them, and that we’ll continue to help address their security needs not just tomorrow but out into the future,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Wednesday.
The agreement does not specify an exact dollar amount the U.S. must send to Ukraine and doesn’t require American troops to be deployed to defend the country, according to the Post. Officials did say, however, that the deal promises that the U.S. would hold high-level consultations with Kyiv within 24 hours if Ukraine is attacked again.
“If [Russian President] Vladimir Putin thinks that he can outlast the coalition supporting Ukraine, he’s wrong,” Sullivan added.
Sullivan made those comments on Air Force One as President Joe Biden flew to Italy for a meeting with Group of Seven leaders.
