Washington DC, US/Kyiv, Ukraine
Reuters
US President Joe Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday and announced a new military aid package ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day on Saturday, their offices said.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who also spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov on Friday, said on social media the package was worth $US125 million.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and US President Joe Biden react as they attend a Ukraine Compact meeting, on the sidelines of the NATO’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington, US, on 11th July, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Yves Herman/File photo.
In the call with Zelenskiy, Biden reaffirmed Washington’s support, which the White House called “unwavering”, for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
The aid package includes air-defense missiles, counter-drone equipment, anti-armor missiles and ammunition, the White House said in its statement.
The calls came ahead of Ukraine’s independence day.
“Ukraine critically needs the supply of weapons from the announced packages, particularly additional air defence systems for the reliable protection of cities, communities, and critical infrastructure,” Zelenskiy said in a statement after call released by his office.
After seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February, 2022. The United States has since provided military assistance and aid to Ukraine while also imposing sanctions on Moscow over the invasion.
Washington has provided Ukraine with more than $US50 billion worth of military aid since 2022.
Separately on Friday, the United States imposed sanctions on more than 400 entities and individuals for supporting Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, including Chinese companies that US officials believe are helping Moscow skirt Western sanctions and build up its military.
Meanwhile in Kyiv India’s Narendra Modi urged President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday to sit down for talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine and offered to act as a friend to help bring peace as the two leaders met in wartime Kyiv.
The first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in modern Ukrainian history came at a volatile juncture in the war launched by Russia in February, 2022. Moscow is making slow gains in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv presses a cross-border incursion.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 23rd August, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Gleb Garanich.
The optics closely resembled the Indian leader’s visit to Moscow last month where he called for peace and embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin, angering Ukraine, where a Russian missile strike hit a children’s hospital on the same day.
“The road to resolution can only be found through dialogue and diplomacy. And we should move in that direction without wasting any time. Both sides should sit together to find a way out of this crisis,” Modi said in Kyiv.
“I want to assure you that India is ready to play an active role in any efforts towards peace. If I can play any role in this personally, I will do that, I want to assure you as a friend,” he said.
It was not immediately clear what Kyiv made of his remarks and whether they were part of a diplomatic push taking place behind closed doors with a November presidential election looming in the United States, a close ally of Ukraine.
Speaking later on Friday in his regular address to the nation after the visit had ended, Zelenskiy said it is “important to us that India remains committed to international law and supports our sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
He also said he appreciated that Modi had begun the visit by paying tribute to the children killed in the July hospital strike.
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India, which traditionally has close economic and defence relations with Moscow, has publicly criticised the deaths of innocent people in the war, but also strengthened its economic ties with Moscow.
Both leaders described Modi’s visit as “historic” in their statements during their meeting, in which Modi spoke second and Zelenskiy had no opportunity to respond to the call for dialogue.
Zelenskiy said that “the matter of ending the war and a just peace are the priority for Ukraine”.
Ukraine has repeatedly said it wants the war to end but on Kyiv’s terms, not Russia’s. Ukraine has been pushing to hold a second international summit later this year to advance its vision of peace and involve representatives from Russia.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits a monument to Mahatma Gandhi, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 23rd August, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko.
The first summit, held in Switzerland in June, pointedly excluded Russia, while attracting scores of delegations, including one from India, but not from China, the world’s second largest economy. Zelenskiy urged Modi to sign the summit’s communique, which India has not done.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that talks were out of the question after Ukraine launched its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region on 6th August
Kyiv’s top commander has touted the capture of almost 100 settlements in the assault, part of what military analysts see as an attempt to divert Russian troops from eastern Ukraine where Moscow’s forces are making gains.
“Certain influence”
Modi’s visit to Moscow prompted Zelenskiy to criticise the Indian prime minister when the trip coincided with the missile strike that hit a children’s hospital in Kyiv.
As he welcomed Modi to the Mariinskyi presidential palace in Kyiv, Zelenskiy embraced him with a frowning expression before they began talks. Modi issued renewed condolences over the missile strike on X in a post written in Ukrainian.
“Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief,” the post said.
In the run-up to the visit, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser in Zelenskiy’s office, told Reuters it was significant because New Delhi “really has a certain influence” over Moscow.
“It’s extremely important for us to effectively build relations with such countries, to explain to them what the correct end to the war is – and that it is also in their interests,” he said.
As Western nations have imposed sanctions on Russia and cut trade relations with it over the invasion, India has developed its economic ties.
Indian refiners that rarely bought Russian oil in the past have emerged as Moscow’s top clients for seaborne crude since Russia poured troops into Ukraine two-and-a-half years ago. Russian oil accounts for over two-fifths of India’s oil imports.
– With reporting by STEVE HOLLAND in Buellton, California, US and ERIC BEECH in Washington DC, US; Additional reporting by YP RAJESH, SHIVAM PATEL, KRISHN KAUSHIK and SUDIPTO GANGULY in New Delhi, YULIIA DYSA in Gdansk, Poland, and DMITRY ZHDANNIKOV in London, UK.
