Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Trump Tower in New York.
As you know, President Zelensky has asked to meet with me, and I will be meeting with him tomorrow morning at around 9:45 in Trump Tower. And it’s a shame what’s happening in Ukraine – so many deaths, so much destruction. It’s a horrible thing.
This meeting takes place immediately after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s meetings with US President Joe Biden and US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Washington.
Earlier, Trump criticised the Ukrainian president. However, the Republican candidate changed his mind on the same day when Zelensky visited the White House.
Trump’s stance on Ukraine has been somewhat contradictory: earlier he criticised US assistance to Ukraine and praised Russian President Vladimir Putin. Biden, on the other hand, reaffirmed US support for Ukraine, promising to provide the necessary assistance to win the war. The US recently announced a new arms and aid package for Ukraine worth about $8 billion.
Zelensky expressed his gratitude for the support of the United States, emphasising that the two countries have been together since the war started in February 2022.
During the meeting with President Joe Biden, I presented the Victory Plan to him. We discussed details to strengthen the plan, coordinated our positions, views, and approaches, and tasked our teams with holding consultations on the next steps.
Meanwhile, President Biden said that Ukraine would emerge victorious in the war against Russia.
Today, President Zelensky and I sat down again to discuss strengthening Ukraine’s position on the battlefield and helping Ukraine rebuild stronger than before. Two things are clear: Ukraine will win this war. And the US will continue to stand by them every step of the way.
The US Department of Defence announced an important new security assistance package to provide Ukraine with the tools it needed to win, according to a Pentagon press release. The package provides an additional $2.4 billion in support under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).
This will provide Kyiv with additional air defence, unmanned aerial systems and air-to-ground munitions, as well as strengthen Ukraine’s defence industrial base and support its maintenance needs.