Biden and Zelensky lay out new US support for Ukraine | CNN (2024)

President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands after signing a security agreement on the sidelines of the G7, Thursday, June 13,.

The United States and Ukraine signed a bilateral security pact on the sidelines of the G7 in Italy on Thursday. The deal lays out a path for the US’ long-term security relationship with Kyiv — but could also be undone by future US administrations, according to officials familiar with its details.

The agreement follows months of negotiations between the US andUkraine. After signing the agreement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Joe Biden made remarks and answered questions.

Here’s what to know:

Zelenskyy speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the G7 on June 13.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that the bilateral security pact that Ukraine and the United States signed on Thursday will serve as a bridge to Kyiv’s attempt to join NATO.

“It is very important for all Ukrainians and for all Europeans to know that there will be no security deficit in Europe, which tempts the aggressor to war and makes the future uncertain,” he added.

Biden speaks during a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 13.

President Joe Biden said that US air defense system support will continue to focus on Ukraine, and that other countries expecting that same support will have to wait.

Some background: The US-made Patriot air defense system that Biden referenced is among the most complex and prized contributions the country has made to Ukraine’s war efforts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he has received assurances from Chinese leadership that they will not supply weapons to Russia in their war against Ukraine.

“I had phone conversation with the leader of China, by phone. He said that he will not sell any weapon to Russia,” Zelensky said.

“We’ll see. … If he is respectable person, he will not. Because he gave me (his) word.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the United States and leaders like President Joe Biden have supported Ukraine in its war against Russia because of their countries’ shared values — something he says he thinks will continue as the US heads into a presidential election this fall.

“They work based on the voice of their people and it is impossible without people,” Zelensky, who was speaking Ukrainian, said of US leaders.

Zelensky and Biden are giving remarks after signing a security agreement between their two countries on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy on Thursday.

The agreement is an “executive agreement,” making it less formal than a treaty and not necessarily binding for any future presidents.

Former President Donald Trump, who is the GOP frontrunner, previously pledged to end the war in Ukraine, though he’s offered no details on how he would do so. “Shortly after I win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled,” Trump said at a New Hampshire campaign event last year, adding in another speech that it would take him “no longer than one day” to settle the war if elected.

US President Joe Biden reaffirmed his support for his son, Hunter Biden, in the first in-person comments the president has made since his son’s conviction on federal gun charges on Tuesday.

Biden said he would not pardon his son, restating a commitment he made last week, before Hunter Biden was convicted.

At the end of the news conference, Biden also responded “no” to a shouted question asking whether he would consider commuting his son’s sentence. Hunter Biden has not yet received his sentence.

Zelenskyy speaks tot the media after signing a bilateral security agreement on the sidelines of the G7 on Thursday, June 13.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky marked what he called a “truly historic day” after signinga bilateral security pact between his country and the United States.

“We have signed the strongest agreement within Ukraine and the US since our independence,” the president said at a news conference with US President Joe Biden. The world leaders are gathered for the G7 summitin Italy.

Zelensky said the agreement benefits everyone because Russia is a “real global threat.”

The Ukrainian president thanked Biden and Americans listening at home — comments that come after a congressional fight over additional US funding for Ukraine.

President Joe Biden speaks to the media after signing a bilateral security agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Thursday, June 13.

US President Joe Biden on Thursday said the US remains steadfast in its support of Ukraine, as he attends the G7 Summit in Italy seeking to shore up American alliances.

Russia’s war, Biden said after signing a long-term security deal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, has been a “test for the world.”

“The United States, the G7 and countries around the world have consistently answered that question by saying yes we will. We will say it again … we’re going to stand with Ukraine.”

US President Joe Biden addressed reporters after signing a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine on Thursday.

During a joint news conference on the sidelines of the G7 summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden said the US and other countries signed security agreements so that Ukraine can defend itself now and deter potential attacks in the future.

Biden and Zelensky sign a bilateral security agreement on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Italy on Thursday, June 13.

US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are speaking in a joint news conference after signing a bilateral security agreement on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Italy.

The deal lays out a path for the US’ long-term security relationship with Kyiv but could also be undone by future US administrations, according to senior US officials.

The agreement follows months of negotiations between the US and Ukraine and is expected to commit the US for 10 years to continued training of Ukraine’s armed forces, more cooperation in the production of weapons and military equipment, the continued provision of military assistance and greater intelligence sharing.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky attends a meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the G7 leaders' summit in Puglia, Italy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the Group of Seven countries to draw up a clear plan for Ukraine’s recovery after the war.

“We need a clear plan for the recovery, similar to the Marshall Plan for Europe after the war,” Zelensky said, referencing the historic plan between the US and Europe that helped reconstruct the devastated continent after World War II.

The Ukrainian president called on the group to agree on a recovery plan “in time for the NATO summit in Washington,” which will take place in early July.

NATO defense ministers are expected to finalize an agreement Friday that will givethe alliancegreater control over security assistance and training for Ukraine’s military.

Some officials say the agreement is meant to give Europe greater responsibility over the aid amid uncertaintyover the outcome of the US presidential election this fall.

The possibility that former President Donald Trump, who has long been skeptical of providing US military support to NATO and Europe, could win the election “is a huge part” of why NATO is moving forward with the consolidation plan, said one official familiar with the discussions.

It is also a way to give Europe more responsibilityoverthe training and equipping of Ukraine, as the extent of theUS’ commitment to supporting Ukraine in the war against Russiapost-November remains unclear, the official said.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced the intent in a news conference Thursday, saying NATO provides “more than 99% of all military support to Ukraine … so it makes sense that NATO takes on a greater role in these efforts.”

CNN previously reported the options around ensuring long-term support for Ukraine, which one senior European diplomat described at the time as “future-proofing.”

The announcement comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attends the G7 summit in Italy, where he is expected to sign bilateral security agreements with the US and Japan, and speak alongside Biden soon.

Max, a recruitment officer for the DaVinci Wolves Battalion, talks with 39 year-old Mykhailo during his recruitment interview at a recruitment office on February 22, in Kyiv, Ukraine.

The US and Ukraine are expected to sign a bilateral security pact on the sidelines of theG7 in Italyon Thursday, multiple people familiar with the mattertoldCNN, in a deal that lays out a path for the US’ long-term security relationship with Kyiv but that could also be undone by future US administrations.

The agreement follows months of negotiations between the US and Ukraine and is expected to commit the US for 10 years to continued training of Ukraine’s armed forces, more cooperation in the production of weapons and military equipment, the continued provision of military assistance and greater intelligence sharing.

But the pledge is expected to be an “executive agreement,” the sources said, making it less formal than a treaty and not necessarily binding for any future presidents.

Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has not explicitly said whether he would continue support for Ukraine if he wins in November, saying only that he would negotiate a quick end tothe Russia-Ukraine warwithout explaining how. He has also pushed European countries to contribute more to their own defense and said he’d “encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” if Europe didn’t increase its defense funding.

The US-Ukraine agreement does not make a specific monetary pledge to support Ukraine’s defense, two of the sources familiar with the agreement said.An annex in the agreement will lay out how the Biden administration plans to work with Congress on the implementation of the security commitments, one of the sources said, specifically the long-term funding that will be needed to support Ukraine’s defense.

Keep reading here about the agreement.

President Joe Biden touted a $60 billion investment by the United States in global infrastructure during a roundtable event at the G7 in Italy on Thursday.

Appearing alongside the other G7 leaders during a roundtable event, Biden spoke mostly off notecards. The president thanked his Italian host, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in particular.

“All told, I’m proud to announce the United States has mobilized more than $60 billion in investments around the world thus far, that’s double where we were last year,” Biden said.

The initiative was launched during the 2022 G7 summit at Schloss Elmau, Germany – a move to better position the US and its allies to compete with China in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

From left to right, European Council President Charles Michel, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pose for a photo during a welcome ceremony at the G7 summit.

Greeting Group of Seven leaders in a sumptuous Puglia resort, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni looked happy and at ease.As she hosts the three-day G7 summit, Meloni has every reason to enjoy the moment. Those shaking her hands, however, face uncertainty or impending elections that could toss them from office completely.

Meloni, whose political roots grew from a fascist-inspired party, has none of those concerns. Her Brothers of Italy party resoundingly won last week’s European parliamentary elections in Italy with 28.8% of the vote. This firm standing is making her political kryptonite right now.

Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen – the first to meet Meloni at the G7 – needs the Italian leader to stay out of her way to secure a second presidency.

US President Joe Biden ­­– who showed up late and looking a trifle out of sorts – faces a big political challenge in November against expected challenger Donald Trump, whose politics are much closer to Meloni’s than Biden’s.

British Prime Minster Rishi Sunak’s Conservative party is about to be trounced in UK elections on July 4, and French President Emmanuel Macron has called snap parliamentary elections for June 30, following far-right successes in the European vote.

Japan’s Fumio Kishida is battling a scandal in his own party. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is unpopular in Canada, which will vote by next year at the latest. And German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who fared badly in the EU poll, will also face elections in 2025.

Meloni may well be greeting a radically different set of G7 leaders the next time they all meet.

The Russian foreign ministry has warned that leaders from the Group of Seven countries will face “painful” retaliatory measures following their decision to loan money to Ukraine using profits from frozen Russian investments.

The agreement to provide Ukraine with $50 billion from Russian assets “will not lead the West to anything good,” Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said during a news conference in Moscow on Thursday.

Zakharova called the agreement an “illegal initiative” that “threatens to completely unbalance the financial system and create cataclysmic crises.”

“There is enough European property and money in Russia … and inevitable retaliatory measures will be extremely painful for Brussels,” shesaid.

More on the agreement: The loan will be drawn from funds frozen by Western leaders in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. While just $3 billion in frozen funds is located in US banks, a much larger share, adding up to hundreds of billions of dollars, is located in banks in Europe.

Negotiators have focused on a loan amount of about $50 billion.

The loan is expected to be delivered by the end of 2024, which would ensure the money would get to Ukraine before a potential change in US presidents. President Joe Biden is facing off against former President Donald Trump in November’s US presidential election, and Trump has refused to commit to sending additional funding to Ukraine.

CNN’s Betsy Klein and Kayla Tausche contributed to this report.

US President Joe Biden pushed to keep language about reproductive rights in a G7 leaders statement after the summit host, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, sought to strip some language from the document, according to American officials.

Biden worked with other G7 leaders to ensure abortion and reproductive rights remained in the final statement, according to diplomats familiar with the matter.

“The presidentfelt very stronglythat we needed to have at the very least the language that references what we did in Hiroshima on women’s health and reproductive rights,” a senior US administration official said, referring to last year’s G7 summit in Japan.

In that document, leaders reiterated their support for “access to safe and legal abortion and post abortion care.”

It also expressed “strong concern about the rollback of women’s and girls’ rights.”

Remember: The G7, orGroup of Seven, is made up of allied leaders from some of the world’s largest economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the US.

President Joe Biden is leading the world’s richest democracies in sending a beefed-up message to Russian President Vladimir Putin thatthe West will not forsake Ukrainedespite political shocks casting doubts over its commitment.

Biden meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Italy on the sidelines of the G7 summit Thursday, aiming to personally reinforce a promisehe spelled out last week on Normandy battlefieldswhere fascism began to crack 80 years ago.

“We will not walk away, because if we do, Ukraine will be subjugated and it will not end there,” Biden said surrounded by the last surviving US veterans of D-Day and the graves of more than 9,000 of their fallen comrades. “Ukraine’s neighbors will be threatened. All of Europe will be threatened. …The autocrats of the world are watching closely to see what happens in Ukraine.”

Yet Biden’s undertaking will come up against growing concerns in Europe that he will merely be an interregnum between two Donald Trump administrations. The ex-president’s term that ended in 2021 shattered decades-old certainties that the United States will be a stabilizing force in transatlantic affairs and will always secure Europe’s security. And the “autocrats of the world” name checked by Biden will no doubt be watching on Thursday when Trump demonstrates his lock on the Republican Party by meeting GOP House members and senators on Capitol Hill.

Read more about Biden’s efforts to assure autocrats the West will not sacrifice Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden attends a working session on Africa, Climate Change and Development during the G7 Summit on Thursday in Savelletri, Italy.

President Joe Biden is not expected to attend Thursday’s dinner for Group of Seven leaders in Italy, the White House said.

Asked by reporters about the president’s decision aboard Air Force One on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president will have a “jam-packed two days” and that reporters should not “read too much” into the president’s choice not to attend.

The president arrived in Italy late Wednesday after an almost eight-hour flight, and this week’s summit comes on the heels of a trip to France last week for the anniversary of D-Day and for a state visit in Paris.

It’s at least the fourth time, per CNN’s count, that the president will skip or leave early from an official dinner with other world leaders. In 2022, the president did not attend the G20 dinner in Bali.

In 2023, the president left early from the G7 dinner in Hiroshima and returned to his hotel to receive a briefing from his debt ceiling negotiation team. The president also skipped a NATO summit dinner in Lithuania in 2023.

Biden, the oldest sitting US president, is 81 years old and has faced questions and criticism over whether he is “too old” to run for reelection.

A 59% majority of Americans see both Biden and former President Donald Trump as too old for another term as president, according to an ABC News/Ipsos pollreleased earlier this year.

Group of Seven leaders have reached anagreementtoloanmoneytoUkraine backed by the profits from frozen Russian investments, a senior US administration official confirmed Thursday, as the G7 met in Puglia, Italy.

The official added that it’s “only fair that we close the gap by making Russia pay, not our taxpayers, and we found a waytodo so that respects the rule of law in every jurisdiction.”

The agreement is the product of years of negotiation complicated by a patchwork of jurisdictional laws that required the direct involvement of President Joe Biden and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, among othertop US officials.

What happens next: The leaders will soon issue a joint communiqué on the decision.

It will take some time before Ukraine beginstoreceive this money, but the US official said the effort would “move with urgency” and the commitment remains “tobe readytodisperse $50 billion this calendar year.”

If theloanis dispersed by the end of 2024, it would ensure the money would gettoUkraine before a potential change in US presidents. Biden is facing off against former President Donald Trump in November’s US presidential election, and Trump has refusedtocommittosending additional fundingtoUkraine.

“The next steps aretoenshrine the communiqué commitments with the EU 27, the full membership, then we needtowrite contracts between the lenders … the recipient, which is Ukraine, and the intermediaries,” the official said.

From there, there will be anagreement on a dispersal schedule.

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the White House on May 31, in Washington, DC.

US President Joe Biden arrived to the G7 Summit in Italy armed with a new set of more than 300 sanctions aimed at further isolating and financially weakening Russia more than two years into its offensive in Ukraine.

The measures, the US Department of Treasury said, are “guided by G7 commitments to intensify the pressure on Russia,” and mark the latest move to limit the Kremlin’s revenues and hamper Moscow’s ability to source materials for its war.

The sanctions take aim at foreign financial institutions supporting Russia’s war, restrict Russia’s access to certain US software and information technology services, and target over 300 individuals and entities “whose products and services enable Russia to sustainits war effort and evade sanction,” the department said.

The US and Western allies havelevied a series of sanctionsagainst Russia in recent years, but Russia has adapted to them. Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken to gloating about Russia’s resistance to international sanctions, which take time to have an effect.

Among the actions is a step that will authorize Treasury to impose sanctions on foreign financial institutions aiding Russia’s military-industrial base. The move threatens sanctions on any financial institution that does business with any previously-sanctioned individual or entity, including Sberbank and VTB bank.

In this December 2023 photo, US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky take the stage for a news conference in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on December 12, 2023 in Washington, DC.

US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will participate in a news conference together today in Italy during the G7 summit, according to US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

The president apologized to Zelensky last week during a meeting in France for aid delays from the US, telling the Ukrainian leader: “We’re not going to walk away from you.”

Kirby echoed that sentiment ahead of the president’s travel, saying in part that “we will take bold steps to show Mr. Putin that time is not on his side and that he cannot outlast us as we support Ukraine’s fight for freedom.”

Biden is set to meet with other leaders from G7 nations – the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan – at the summit as well.

The White House also confirmed that Pope Francis will attend a special summit on artificial intelligence as part of the larger G7 summit.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the G7 summit earlier on Thursday and was greeted by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Ahead of his arrival, Zelensky tweeted about the bilateral security agreements with US and Japan that he is expected to sign.

More background: The US and Ukraine are expected to sign a bilateral security pact on the sidelines of theG7 in Italy, multiple people familiar with the matterhave toldCNN, in a deal that lays out a path for the US’ longterm security relationship with Kyiv but that could also be undone by future US administrations.

The agreement follows months of negotiations between the US andUkraineand is expected to commit the US for 10 years to continued training of Ukraine’s armed forces, more cooperation in the production of weapons and military equipment, the continued provision of military assistance and greater intelligence sharing.

Also on the table is a $50 billion loan for the Ukraine by G7 members, backed by the profits from frozen Russian investments,

CNN’s Natasha Bertrand contributed reporting to this post.

When the Group of 7 pose for its ritual family photo Thursday on the rockyAdriatic coast of Italy,the image will not be of leaders at the height oftheir political strength.

Instead, nearly to a person, the leaders assembling at a luxury resort in Puglia find themselves weakened at home by elections, scandal or waning influence.

Amid the olive trees and swimming pools, the anti-incumbent sentiments coursing through Western democracies are creating extraordinarily high stakes for global geopolitics.

Rarely has the yearly gathering of the world’s leading economies been so overshadowed by the political vulnerabilities of nearly all its members. It raises questions of how effective the “steering committee of the free world,” as US PresidentJoe Biden’s aides have labeled the G7, can actually be amid anger and discontent from their own populations.

Read more about what this G7 might mean for leaders here.