All eyes were on President Joe Biden today as he met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before delivering a keynote speech on the final day of the NATO summit — a meeting and remarks that come after the Ukrainian president lashed out over the lack of a timeline for his country's integration into the alliance.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg may have dampened Ukrainian outrage when, standing alongside Zelenskyy in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, he announced a three-part package aimed at bringing Kyiv closer to the alliance.
While Zelenskyy welcomed the agreement, he said an invitation to NATO membership would have been better.
Biden delivered a speech at Vilnius University before heading to Helsinki Wednesday night, where he will celebrate NATO's expansion, with Finland as its newest member.
What to know about the NATO summit
- Wednesday was the final day of the summit, with Biden delivering a key speech before leaving Vilnius and heading to Finland where he'll stay overnight.
- Biden acknowledged Ukraine's frustration over not being offered a clear timeline for NATO membership during a meeting with Zelenskyy.
- Biden also vowed to support Ukraine for "as long as that takes" as the U.S. and other allies promised new individual agreements to help ensure the eastern European country's long-term security.
- Allies agreed to a three-part package aimed at "bringing Ukraine closer to NATO" and easing the country's path to membership.
- Denmark's defense minister said yesterday that his country and 10 other NATO allies have agreed to train the Ukrainian air force in the use of F-16 fighter jets.
- Biden skipped a NATO dinner to prepare for his speech today and other official business.
Biden arrives in Finland
Air Force One landed in Finland shortly after 3 p.m. ET, 10:01 p.m. local time.
Biden was greeted at the Helsinki airport by the U.S. ambassador to Finland, the Finnish ambassador to the U.S. and other Finnish officials. He'll remain in Finland overnight.
Air Force One departs for Finland
Biden has departed on Air Force One for Finland, the final leg of his European trip.
Tomorrow, he's expected to hold a meeting and a press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in Helsinki. He leaves Finland for Washington tomorrow night.
Finland joined NATO in April, becoming the newest member of the alliance. Sweden is expected to join soon.
Sens. Kaine, Rubio push bill that would block a U.S. president from withdrawing from NATO
Senate Foreign Relations Committee members Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., reintroduced legislation that would block a U.S. president from withdrawing from the NATO alliance without Senate approval or an act of Congress.
The bill would require the president to seek the advice and consent of the Senate "before suspending, terminating, or withdrawing U.S. membership in NATO," according to a press release.
"If a U.S. President attempts to leave NATO without Senate approval or an Act of Congress, the bill prohibits any funding from being used to do so and also authorizes Congressional Legal Counsel to challenge the Administration in court," it said.
While he served as president, Donald Trump publicly lambasted the alliance and reportedly floated the idea repeatedly of withdrawing from NATO.
Biden vows U.S. and allies ‘will not waver’ in defense of Ukraine
Biden promised Ukraine that its Western partners would not back away from its defense in a speech today following two days of high-stakes meetings with leaders at a NATO summit.
Speaking on a bright evening, Biden vowed that “the defense of freedom is not the work of a day or a year. It’s the calling of our lifetime — of all time.”
“We are steeled for the struggle ahead,” the president added. Of Ukraine’s partners, he said, “Our unity will not falter, I promise you.”
The event in Vilnius proved a test of Biden’s promise upon taking office to repair America’s international relationships, which include NATO, the 31-country mutual defense pact forged in the aftermath of World War II. Top of the agenda was Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has raged on NATO’s doorstep for close to 18 months.
“We will not waver. I mean that,” Biden continued. “Our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken. We will stand for freedom today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.”
Key GOP lawmakers urge Biden to send Ukraine long-range missiles 'without delay'
Republican leaders on the foreign policy committees in Congress called on the Biden administration to send a new long-range missile system to Ukraine in a statement today, a day after France vowed to provide Ukraine some of its own supply.
Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the chairman of House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in the statement that France’s move “should prompt the Biden Administration to transfer ATACMS without delay,” referring to Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as “attack 'ems.”
France's move comes after the United Kingdom sent Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine in May, the release noted, saying those missiles "have proven effective in providing Ukraine with a deep-strike capability."
“It is time for the Biden administration to stop leading from behind," the senators said in the statement.
The U.S. missiles have a range of nearly 200 miles and could in theory be used to strike mainland Russia or the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also recently endorsed sending the missiles to Ukraine, but the Pentagon has said the U.S. has no plans to offer the weapons, citing limited supply.
"Right now, we're not provided the ATACMs," Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in March.
Zelenskyy says the meeting with Biden was 'powerful'
Zelenskyy said he had a "very good, powerful" meeting with Biden.
"The meeting was at least twice as long as planned, and it was as meaningful as it needed to be," he said on Twitter. "If the protocol had not stopped the meeting, we would have talked even longer."
The Ukrainian president said they discussed long-term support, weapons, politics and NATO.
Leaders pose for 'family photo'
World leaders at the NATO summit stood for today's "family photo" after announcing a joint declaration of support for Ukraine.
Biden acknowledges Ukrainian ‘frustration’ after NATO offers no clear timeline to membership
Biden acknowledged “frustration I can only imagine” at the start of a meeting with Zelenskyy, more than 15 years after NATO promised Kyiv a path to future membership.
The president said Washington "is doing everything we can to get you what you need as rapidly as we will get it to you," while Ukraine, with its ultimate ask out of reach, clamors for more munitions.
“I just want you to know it’s real,” he added.
Transatlantic leaders gathering in Vilnius this week for the summit doused Ukraine's hopes of joining the defense pact in the near term. Instead, leaders vowed to forge individual security agreements with Ukraine that would bolster its defense against Russia.
Still, the alliance promised a future path for the Eastern European nation, stating in a formal communique that “Ukraine’s future is in NATO.”
G-7 issues joint declaration of support for Ukraine
The G-7 leaders published a joint declaration of support for Ukraine that said they were starting negotiations with the war-torn country to formalize support. It includes vows to do the following:
- Ensure Ukrainian forces can defend the country through military, training, intelligence and cyber support.
- Help Ukraine's economy, including through reconstruction and recovery.
- Provide technical and financial support and assist Ukraine in putting a reform agenda in place.
The declaration also said Ukraine is committed to contributing to security, continuing implementation of anti-corruption reforms and strengthening democratic civilian control of the military.
"This effort will be taken forward while Ukraine pursues a pathway toward future membership in the Euro-Atlantic community," the declaration said.
