President Joe Biden reiterated U.S. support for Ukraine and announced a new $425 million military assistance package during a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Oct. 16.
“In the coming months, the United States will provide Ukraine with a range of additional capabilities, including hundreds of air defense interceptors, dozens of tactical air defense systems, additional artillery systems, significant quantities of ammunition, hundreds of armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, and thousands of additional armored vehicles, all of which will help to equip Ukraine’s armed forces,” the White House said.
Biden and Zelenskyy talked less than a month after the Ukrainian president visited the United States and shared with Biden and other U.S. leaders what he has described as a “victory plan” for Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.
The victory plan includes a renewed request from Zelenskyy for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to extend membership status to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy’s plan also rehashes a request for his Western backers to provide Ukrainian forces with long-range weapons systems and the corresponding permission to use those weapons to strike deep within Russian territory.
The Biden administration has been reluctant to allow extensive Ukrainian strikes inside Russia but has permitted Ukrainian forces to conduct limited cross-border strikes targeting Russian forces directly involved in the hostilities within Ukraine.
The plan includes a request for a “comprehensive non-nuclear strategic deterrence package,” which Zelenskyy predicted would either force Russia to negotiate a cease-fire on his preferred terms or risk seeing its military capabilities crippled.
As a fourth plank to his victory plan, Zelenskyy said Ukraine could sign agreements with the United States, the European Union, and other Western countries to export Ukraine’s natural resources. A fifth and final part of his plan entails an offer for battle-hardened Ukrainian forces to assist security missions across Europe and replace some of the U.S. troops deployed throughout the continent.
The White House said Biden and Zelenskyy again discussed the Ukrainian leader’s victory plan during their Wednesday call, and both leaders “tasked their teams to engage in further consultations on next steps.”
Zelenskyy also expects to discuss his victory plan in greater detail with EU leaders at the European Council meeting on Oct. 17.
While it remains to be seen whether Ukraine’s Western backers will fully embrace Zelenskyy’s plan, they are continuing to discuss additional rounds of support.
The White House said Biden committed to hosting a November virtual leader-level meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a coordinating group for 57 nations supplying military equipment to Ukraine. The meeting will focus on preparing additional rounds of international military assistance for Ukraine.
“We are grateful to the U.S. for its commitment to helping Ukraine strengthen its positions in order to force Russia into good faith diplomacy,” Zelenskyy said.
