Biden to sign security agreement with Ukraine as Putin cozies up to North Korea: ‘We stand with them’
President Biden will sign a formal security deal with Ukraine on Thursday, as Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly will cozy up to North Korean tyrant Kim Jong Un in the coming days.
The agreement, to be signed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the G7 in Italy, will commit the US to 10 more years of training Ukraine’s military, boosting weapons-production cooperation and providing other assistance and increased intelligence sharing, US officials said.
“Our goal here is straightforward,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Wednesday. “We want to demonstrate the US supports the people of Ukraine; that we stand with them [and] will continue to address their security needs, not just now, but in the future.”
Still, Biden remains committed to his pledge of no US boots on the ground in Ukraine, as Sullivan said the deal will not involve sending American forces to the war-torn country.
“This agreement covers the kind of support that Ukraine has sought as it bravely defends its freedom,” he said. “They have asked our weapons assistance as they fight to defend their territory; they have not askd our forces to join the fight.”
