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At the G7 summit in Italy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Mr Biden signed a 10-year bilateral security deal between Ukraine and the US, hailed by Kyiv as “historic”.
Today’s News :
The agreement envisages US military and training aid to Ukraine – but it does not commit Washington to send troops to fight for its ally.
According to the White House, the security deal means Washington and Kyiv will work to build and maintain Ukraine’s defence and deterrence capability, bolster the country’s defence industrial base, and support economic recovery and energy security.
The security deal also means that in the event of a future Russian armed attack against Ukraine, there will be consultation “at the highest levels to determine appropriate and necessary measures to support Ukraine and impose costs on Russia”, the statement added.
Speaking at a joint news conference at the summit’s venue in Puglia, southern Italy, President Biden said the $50bn loan would “put that money to work for Ukraine and send another reminder to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that we’re not backing down”.
President Zelensky thanked his American and other allies for their unwavering support.
And referring to the new security deal, he said: “It’s a truly historic day and we have signed the strongest agreement within Ukraine and the US since our independence [in 1991]”.
The G7 group of rich nations, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and US, have been important financial and military supporters of Ukraine as it battles to contain occupying Russian forces.
Other G7 leaders also hailed the $50bn loan deal, with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak describing it as “game changing”.
A senior White House official said the G7-agreed fund will have “multiple” uses, which could include “military support, budget support, humanitarian support, reconstruction support”.