OAN’s James Meyers
8:04 AM – Friday, June 14, 2024
The United States and Ukraine signed off Thursday on a 10-year security agreement , with the leaders of the Group of Seven nations pledging to arrange a $50 billion loan to Ukraine as well.
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The security deal, which was signed by President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of a joint news conference on the sidelines of the annual G7 summit in southern Italy, will boost weapons-production cooperation, provide other military assistance and increase intelligence sharing.
Additionally, the agreement also commits the Pentagon to another 10 years of training Ukraine’s military forces.
“A lasting peace for Ukraine must be underwritten by Ukraine’s own ability to defend itself now and to deter future aggression anytime in the future,” Biden said. “The United States is going to help ensure that Ukraine can do both – not by sending American troops to fight Ukraine, but by providing weapons and ammunition; expanding intelligence sharing; continuing to train brave Ukrainian troops at bases in Europe and the United States; enhancing interoperability between our militaries in line with NATO standards; and investing in Ukraine’s defense industrial base.”
The U.S. also announced a new military aid package for Kyiv valued at $225 million, which includes “air-defense interceptors; artillery systems and munitions; armored vehicles; and anti-tank weapons,” according to the White House.
Funding for the package will come out of the $60 billion Congress allocated to Ukraine defense spending as part of a supplemental funding bill approved in April.
Furthermore, the U.S. is also expected to announce that it is sending Kyiv a second Patriot missile system, which Zelensky has claimed is critical to their defense against Russian air and missile strikes on civilian infrastructure.
“All our other partners, they know that urgently we need seven Patriot systems to save our cities – not all of them, we’d still need more – but urgently seven,” the Ukrainian leader said Thursday. “And we discussed the possibility of having five of them … and the partners work on it.”
“It doesn’t mean that tomorrow we will have these five systems, but we see in the closest future, good result for Ukraine,” he added.
However, the official announcement of the Patriot donation did not come Thursday.
Biden, whose election rival Donald Trump is vowing to personally negotiate an end to the war if he wins on November 5th, used the press conference to emphasize U.S. support for Kyiv.
“Two and a half years ago, Putin unleashed a brutal war in Ukraine and it’s been a horrifying deal for the Ukrainian people, who are so brave and incredible,” Biden said.
“It also been a test for the world: Would we stand with Ukraine? Would we stand for sovereignty, freedom and against tyranny? The United States, the G7 and countries around the world have consistently answered the question by saying, ‘Yes, we will.’ We will say it again, ‘Yes’, again and again and again, we’re gonna stand with Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, the G7, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the US and the European Union announced the details of the $50 billion loan. The loan would mostly be guaranteed by Washington and backed by profits earned on roughly $260 billion in immobilized Russian assets, the majority of which are held by European nations.
The loan is due to be officially announced Friday.
In April, Congress passed and Biden signed into law the so-called REPO Act, short for Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act, which allows the White House to seize $5 billion in Russian state assets in the U.S. and use them for the benefit of Kyiv.
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