U.S. President Joe Biden will meet Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Paris on Friday with a package of $225 million in weapons on the sidelines of D-Day anniversary events, APA reports citing Reuters.
It will be their first face-to-face talks since Zelenskiy visited Washington in December, when the two wrestled with Republican opposition to more Ukraine aid. They will meet again next week at a G7 summit in Italy, as rich nations discuss using Russian assets frozen after the Ukraine invasion to provide $50 billion for Ukraine.
Zelenskiy told Reuters last month that Western countries are taking too long to make decisions about aid.
Biden in remarks in Normandy, France, on Thursday drew a link between the World War Two battle against tyranny and Ukraine's war with Russia, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a "dictator."
The $225 million in new weaponry includes artillery rounds and air defense interceptors, among other items, sources said. Ukraine has struggled to defend the Kharkiv region after an offensive launched by Moscow on May 10 has overrun some villages.
Biden last week shifted his position and decided Ukraine could launch U.S.-supplied weapons at military targets inside Russia that are supporting the Kharkiv offensive.
The United States is trying to catch up with Ukraine's weaponry needs, deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said in Washington Thursday.
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