July 12 (UPI) — President Joe Biden told a crowd in Lithuania that the United States and NATO will not waver in their defense of Ukraine as it fights against the invasion of Russia.
Biden, who talked with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for about an hour before speaking in front of the crowd, said the Ukrainian people “remain unbroken” after more than a year of fighting against the much larger foe in Russia.
Biden said NATO is more unified “than any other time in our shared history.” He said Russian President Vladimir Putin bet that NATO would break apart over the war.
“He bet wrong,” Biden said to cheers from the crowd at Vilnius University. Biden said as a sign of that unity, NATO has grown, adding Finland as its newest member in April and is now on the verge of adding Sweden.
Biden praised Lithuania for its own efforts to remain a free country after breaking away from the Soviet Union in the 1990s.
The president said climate change remains the greatest challenge to mankind and there is a shared responsibility to do what it takes to save the planet.
Biden’s comments come on the second day of the critical NATO summit where members put Ukraine on the path of membership into NATO and members committed to give at least 2% of its gross domestic product to defense.
Zelensky arrived in Vilnius, for bilateral meetings with Biden and leaders from Canada, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and Japan. The NATO allies Tuesday released a plan for Ukraine’s eventual admission into the military alliance and support for its defense against Russia.
“Our defense is a top priority, and I am grateful to our partners for their willingness to take new steps,” Zelensky said on Twitter. “More weapons for our warriors, more protection of life for the whole of Ukraine. We will bring new important defense tools to Ukraine.”
Zelensky met with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in one of his first bilateral meetings on Wednesday.
“We are discussing security guarantees for Ukraine on its way to NATO — we have Canada’s understanding, the world’s understanding will follow, and we are preparing an important security victory for Ukraine,” Zelensky said of his meeting with Trudeau.
“I am grateful to Justin and Canada for reinforcing our warriors with armored vehicles. We have reached powerful agreements.”
In his meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Zelensky said Kyiv secured a new agreement to receive more Patriot defense missiles from the country.
“This is very important for protecting life in Ukraine from Russian terror,” Zelensky said on social media. “We substantially discussed further long-term defense cooperation between Ukraine and Germany, including the functioning of hubs for the repair of Western equipment.
“I am grateful for Germany’s readiness for long-term, multi-year support of Ukraine and our defense of freedom. Long-term support programs are the best signal to the world that our Europe will remain a space of security and peace.”
The meetings come a day after NATO voted to approve a package that puts Ukraine on the path of eventual membership in the military alliance after meeting certain conditions, which Zelensky criticized as “absurd.”
The alliance also established the NATO-Ukraine Council, which is slated to hold its first meeting on Wednesday.
