PUGLIA, Italy—President Joe Biden signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on June 13, signifying a continuing U.S. commitment to support the war-torn country against Russian aggression.
The two leaders signed the agreement on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in southern Italy. It includes a U.S. commitment to bring its military cooperation with Ukraine up to NATO standards and help accelerate its transformation into a nation befitting its goal to join the European Union.
“Our goal is to strengthen Ukraine’s credible defense and deterrence capabilities for the long term,” President Biden said in a joint press conference after signing the agreement. “We’ve taken three major steps at the G7 that collectively show Putin he cannot wait us out. He cannot divide us and we will be with Ukraine until they prevail in this war.”
The agreement also outlines U.S. commitment to developing multiple facets of Ukraine’s forces, including its Air and Missile Defense, confirming the utilization of the Patriot missile system in the process.
The White House also announced its intention to provide long-term training and advice to Ukrainian forces and invite them to join U.S. and multilateral exercises “when appropriate.”
President Biden reaffirmed, though, that the United States would not send American troops to Ukraine to fight and will instead continue to provide weapons and ammunition, expand intelligence sharing, and continue to train Ukrainian troops in Europe and the United States.
The agreement was signed after G7 countries agreed on a plan to unlock frozen Russian assets to use as collateral for what will be a multi-billion-dollar loan to Ukraine. President Biden described that accomplishment as “another reminder to Putin [that] we’re not backing down. In fact, we’re standing together against this illegal aggression.”
The security pact was made after President Biden and the leaders of the G7 countries agreed last year at the NATO summit in Vilnius that they would each sign bilateral security agreements with Ukraine.
So far, 15 countries have already entered into direct bilateral security agreements with Ukraine, according to the White House.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan briefed reporters ahead of the bilateral meeting on June 13, describing the agreement as a milestone.
“We think this is a big deal, a milestone moment in the partnership between the U.S. and Ukraine,” Mr. Sullivan said.
He added that the agreement is “a real marker” of U.S. commitment for the long term “both in defending against Russian aggression and in deterring future aggression so that Ukraine can be a sovereign, viable, thriving democracy.”
Utilization of a Patriot missile system was confirmed in the agreement: “Building upon the range of air defense capabilities that the United States has provided to date, including the Patriot system, the United States commits to support Ukraine’s development of a layered, integrated air and missile defense system.”
According to Mr. Sullivan, the security agreement does not include specific dollar figures for supporting Ukraine.
“It includes a commitment to work with Congress on sustainable funding going forward, which we will do,” he told reporters on June 12 on Air Force One en route to Italy.
“And it lays out a framework for how we work with Ukraine and with other allies and partners to ensure Ukraine has what it needs in terms of the physical capacity as well as the intelligence and other capacities to be able to defend itself effectively and to deter Russia.”
The president met with Mr. Zelenskyy for the second time in a week. The two leaders met in Paris on June 7 during the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
During that meeting, President Biden apologized to Ukraine’s president for the delays in passing a foreign aid measure that included $61 billion in support for Ukraine.
“We’re not going to walk away from you,” President Biden told Mr. Zelenskyy while announcing $225 million in new assistance for the country.
President Biden began his meetings in Puglia, Italy, on June 13 with the leaders of the G7, the world’s seven wealthy democratic nations, to discuss a broad spectrum of topics, including the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, economic security, and international cooperation on artificial intelligence.
The three-day summit is taking place in the luxurious hotel resort of Borgo Egnazia, nestled among olive groves along the Adriatic coastline in the town of Savelletri di Fasano.
This year’s summit is hosted by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Other leaders attending the summit are French President Emmanuel Macon, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
