US President Joe Biden delivers a speech on NATO at Vilnius University in Vilnius, Lithuania, July 12, 2023, after the tip of the NATO Summit.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty’s paintings
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden electrified NATO allies and reaffirmed US commitment to Ukraine on Wednesday as Russia’s devastating war with its neighbor marks its five hundredth day.
Biden, who faces re-election next yr and who has allocated the lion’s share of military aid to Ukraine, described Kiev’s support for democracy as “the calling of our lives.”
Within the nearly 18 months since Russian troops crossed Ukraine’s borders in what was the most important air, land and naval conflict since World War II, the US has deployed a war pot price greater than $41 billion to bolster Kiev.
“We did what we all the time do, the US stepped up, NATO stepped up, and our partners within the Indo-Pacific region stepped up,” Biden said in a speech from Vilnius, Lithuania.
“We is not going to waver,” he said, promising the US would proceed to support Ukraine “so long as mandatory.”
Biden’s speech follows a two-day high-level meeting of NATO leaders gathered within the Lithuanian capital, where member states offered security guarantees to Ukraine. Allies welcomed the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who reiterated his calls for NATO membership and promised that his membership would strengthen essentially the most powerful military alliance on this planet.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses a crowd at Lukiski Square in Vilnius on July 11, 2023 during a NATO summit.
Odd Andersen | AFP | Getty’s paintings
Ukraine has been trying to join NATO since 2002. It borders 4 NATO allies: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.
In September, Zelensky applied for early NATO membership. Since then, he has visited several European capitals to gain support for Kiev’s candidacy.
Zelensky’s calls were overshadowed by the announcement on the primary day of the summit that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had agreed to support Sweden’s bid to join NATO.
In May last yr, Sweden and Finland began the formal strategy of applying to join NATO, which requires the approval of all 30 members of the alliance. Finland joined the alliance in April. After this summit, Sweden is to develop into the thirty second member of the group.
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