U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Normandy following the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on June 4, 2024.
"In Normandy, Biden will have the opportunity to meet with President Zelensky and discuss the state of affairs in Ukraine and how we can deepen our support for Ukraine," Sullivan said. "In a few days, he will also have the opportunity to meet with President Zelensky again at the G7 summit in Italy."
President Biden flew to France on June 4 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy and meet with President Emmanuel Macron. Nearly 200 D-Day veterans from the United States, Great Britain, and Canada participated in the celebrations.
The American leader will attend the Group of Seven (G7) meeting in Italy between June 13 and June 15, where he will have another opportunity to meet with President Zelensky.
Zelensky's spokesperson, Serhii Nykyforov, confirmed earlier this week that President Zelensky will participate in the G7 meeting.
Ukraine plans to discuss further U.S. defense assistance for Kyiv, the development of the Western fighter jet coalition, and the next steps to speed up the delivery of the F-16 aircraft to Ukraine.
The parties will also focus on strengthening Ukraine's air defense, Nykyforov added.
Another key topic for the summit will be a plan to use profits from frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine. The G7 finance ministers on May 25 announced "progress" but no concrete deal on how to use future income from such assets to help Ukraine.
Late last month, multiple news sources reported that President Biden's administration secretly lifted the ban for Ukraine to strike Russian territory with American weapons, but "solely near the area of Kharkiv."
The U.S. and German officials have repeatedly said that they do not support or encourage Kyiv's strikes with their weapons on Russian soil, reportedly due to fears this would lead to an escalation of the war.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
