Biden, Zelenskyy discuss boosting US support to Ukraine

US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the US support to Ukraine in its defense against Russia, in the White House late Thursday. During the meeting, President Biden outlined his decision to surge US security assistance to Ukraine, and President Zelenskyy presented his plan to achieve victory over Russia. The two leaders discussed the diplomatic, economic, and military aspects of Zelenskyy's plan and tasked their teams to engage in intensive consultations regarding next steps. On October 12, President Biden will host a leader-level meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany, where the two leaders will review progress on these consultations and coordinate with international partners on additional assistance for Ukraine. Zelenskyy also separately met with Vice President Kamala Harris, where he thanked her for the invitation and for her participation in the peace summit. "Now we have to end this war. We need justice, and we must protect our people, Ukr ainian families, Ukrainian children and everyone from Putin's evil. We are grateful to America for supporting Ukraine all along," he said. He spoke of an "important meeting today after I talked to President Biden about the Plan of Victory" and that he would share some details of the plan with Harris. "It's crucial for us to be fully understandable and to work in full coordination with the United States." Zelenskyy also mentioned that he met with members of Congress from both chambers and parties. Meanwhile, the US Announced USD 5.55 billion as new military assistance for Ukraine, as part of the surge of assistance that President Biden directed ahead of his meeting with Zelenskyy. Biden affirmed that he has decided to provide Ukraine with the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) long-range bombs, capable of hitting targets at a distance of 130 kilometers. Source: Kuwait News Agency