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“There is no doubt that Russia is losing,” Biden said. “When the war ends, Ukraine will still be a free and independent country.”
Ukraine’s urgency was evident Monday Russian missile strikes pediatric hospital in Kiev and other locations, killing dozens of people in an attack in which Ukraine fired dozens of missiles, some of which eluded Ukrainian defenses.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a speech at the Ronald Reagan Institute on Tuesday evening that he was “grateful” for the new air defense system, but he focused much of his remarks on urging the United States to allow Ukrainian forces to use U.S.-supplied offensive weapons deep into Russia, something Biden has long opposed because it could provoke Russia and potentially draw the United States into war.
He said the summit was taking place in the “shadow” of the upcoming U.S. election, suggesting that’s where Biden’s hesitation comes in. “Now is the time to come out of the shadows and start acting, not wait until November or any other month, to defend democracy and confront (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” Zelensky said.
“When will we be able to destroy Russia’s military aircraft at its own bases? … We are waiting for these steps” to bring missile-firing aircraft, such as the one that struck the children’s hospital, to the ground, he said.
“How long can Putin hold out? The answer to that question is in Washington … act now,” Zelensky said. “Don’t wait months. America can become great every day,” he said, in an apparent reference to Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.
In a standoff with Fox News anchor Bret Baier on stage after his speech, Zelensky dodged a question about who Putin would prefer as U.S. president. He said: “Biden and Trump are very different, but both support democracy. That’s why I think Putin will hate both of them.”
While NATO leaders are expected to unveil additional steps to train and arm Ukraine at a meeting this week, few results are expected, highlighting questions about whether Kiev’s Western backers can help it win a brutal fight for survival.
Russia has successfully fended off a series of Western sanctions imposed after President Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion, and has instead increased its military and military production to consolidate control over large swathes of Ukraine.
NATO’s 32 leaders arrived in the U.S. capital ahead of a multi-day summit where they sought to divert attention from bleak battlefield prospects in Ukraine by emphasizing NATO’s continued support for Kiev. The summit was a closely watched moment for Biden as he faces pressure to determine whether he is willing to serve another four years.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg sought to put the stakes of the Ukraine conflict into historical perspective, saying democratic opponents would benefit if Western countries did not fulfill their obligations to support Kiev in its fight.
“There is no cost-free option in the face of an aggressive Russia; there is no risk-free option in war. Remember, the greatest cost and the greatest risk is a Russian victory in Ukraine; we cannot let that happen,” he told leaders at the 32-nation summit.
Against the backdrop of Ukraine’s difficulty in sustaining its military efforts—and Europe’s concerns The potential turmoil of a second Trump presidency and the rise of far-right parties In some NATO member states, NATO leaders are expected to approve a transfer of control of arming and training Ukraine from the United States to NATO, as well as other measures that officials described as a “bridge” to Ukraine’s future membership in the alliance.
Taking more direct action to accommodate Ukraine, such as setting a timetable for membership, remains a topic of debate among NATO members, some of whom are wary of absorbing a country locked in conflict with a nuclear superpower.
Ivo Daalder, who served as U.S. ambassador to NATO during the Obama administration, said the new support It is a “significant step forward” and will advance the alliance and more directly engaged in day-to-day operations in support of Ukrainian military operations.
“From a practical and operational perspective, it does bring Ukraine and NATO closer together,” Daalder said. “But it does not address the strategic question, which is: When will Ukraine become a NATO member?”
Officials were still racing to finalize the summit communique as the summit got underway on Tuesday. The latest proposal would offer Ukraine an “irreversible” path to NATO membership, but would also include extensive language about anti-corruption and good governance reforms Kyiv would need to make before joining the alliance, said 12 officials with knowledge of the conversations, some of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations.
Officials said the language was the result of an agreement between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, and U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and reflected Biden’s continued reservations about Ukraine’s path to NATO membership.
NATO members who support Ukraine’s accelerated path to membership have sought to use the word “irreversible” to indicate that Kiev has moved closer to joining the bloc since last year’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania – a term some acknowledge is more symbolic than substantive.
Two U.S. officials and one former official said Biden had been more resistant than many of his top aides on the issue, initially resisting plans to include an irreversibility clause and saying in more than one Oval Office meeting that much work needed to be done to fight corruption before Ukraine could join the EU.
exist An interview in MayThe president said he was “not prepared to support Ukraine’s membership in NATO,” seemingly ruling out Ukrainian membership altogether and contradicting the official U.S. government position.
Biden continued to express skepticism in talks with Stoltenberg in Washington last month, saying the more cautious “bridge to NATO” language already being used by U.S. officials would suffice, officials said.
As Biden’s senior adviser Again, the President Officials said Biden’s “irreversible” language after the Stoltenberg talks allowed Sullivan to win his support on the condition that the United States also demanded that Ukraine make significant progress on corruption and political accountability before joining the European Union. Even then, Biden agreed only to say Ukraine’s path toward “Euro-Atlantic integration” was irreversible.
This led to opposition from some NATO countries, especially those in Eastern Europe bordering Ukraine and Russia. Officials said Secretary of State Antony Blinken did a last-minute job of persuading Biden to adopt tougher language — adding “NATO membership” to the list of irreversible items — and then making sure allies agreed to the plan.
The discussions suggest Biden is concerned that accommodating Ukraine before it is ready could ultimately cost him money. Officials say the corruption challenges posed by the alliance will be difficult to eradicate.
“We are not talking about a tiny little Balkan country, Ukraine,” one official said. “It is huge and will have huge consequences.”
NATO diplomats said that while Biden’s approach had the support of Germany and some southern and western European members, it had also sparked resentment among other countries – particularly France and some Eastern European countries – who believed that such conditions could send the message that NATO would rather Ukraine not join at all.
Eric Ciaramella, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former White House aide for Eurasian affairs, said that even if Ukraine could solve all of its corruption problems tomorrow, there are more fundamental challenges in inviting the country to join NATO now.
“The real problem is that we don’t know how to provide security guarantees to countries at war with Russia,” he said. “We can’t clearly spell out the conditions (for such guarantees) other than the end of the war, and that only incentivizes Russia to continue the war.”
For now, at least, top Ukrainian officials appear to be openly focused on what the country can gain rather than on hopes that remain to be realized.
“We will send a very bold and clear message that will be understood and read by everyone, first and foremost the Ukrainian people,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishina said in an interview on Tuesday.
U.S. and NATO officials have tried to portray these achievements. Recent peace summitsas a testament to the West’s strong commitment. They also Emphasizes G7’s new decision to release $50 billion Proceeds from freezing Russian assets are used for recent actions in Ukraine and the United States Send in more air defense interceptors and allow Ukraine to use American weapons to attack certain locations within Russia, although some Key goals still not achieved.
But the aid offered to Ukraine at the summit was still less generous than some in Kiev and NATO had hoped.
This spring, for example, Stoltenberg floated the idea of a multi-year fund to lock in allies’ commitments and protect aid to Ukraine from the winds of political change. NATO has objected to the years-long obligation. Instead, NATO is expected to announce a plan to maintain current military aid levels — about $40 billion — through next year.
The main outcome this week was the creation of a new NATO body that will take over some of the responsibilities of the Ukraine Defense Liaison Group, which has been responsible for coordinating military assistance to Kiev, including training for Ukrainian troops, since 2022 under the leadership of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Jim Townsend, a former Pentagon official on European affairs, said that although Ukraine will not receive an invitation to join NATO in the short term, the summit will still send a message to Putin that NATO will not give up the fight.
“They get more than just tokenism, but improvements in the way we help Ukraine in the coming years,” he said. “So it’s the glass half empty or the glass half full.”
U.S. officials are trying to highlight Ukraine’s role in Congress A major aid package was passed The two sides finally reached an agreement after months of delays, but while the battle lines have barely changed in more than a year, they say Moscow may face increasing challenges in maintaining its advantage on the battlefield.
“There is still pressure on Ukraine; the conflict is still very intense; we shouldn’t be too optimistic,” said a senior administration official. “But the front lines have stabilized, at great cost to Russia, forcing them to rely on an undertrained military, which is actually playing into Ukraine’s hands.”
Ahead of this week’s talks, U.S. officials are also trying to temper Ukrainian leaders’ expectations about their accession process, hoping to reduce the likelihood that they will publicly express frustration at the lack of a fast-track plan for membership. Zelensky at last year’s summit.
A senior NATO official said Zelenskiy is expected to hold a one-on-one meeting with Biden later this week and “he will be told, ‘Please don’t do this anymore.’ ” But in his speech Tuesday night, Zelenskiy focused on the more pressing issue of how to defend against a future Russian onslaught.
Karen DeYoung and John Hudson contributed to this report.
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