President Joe Biden will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in person next Thursday at the White House, the administration confirmed on Friday.
Zelensky's trip to Washington, where he'll also speak with members of Congress, comes as lawmakers weigh whether to approve Biden's request for more than $20 billion in additional aid for Ukraine.
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"We continue to coordinate the provision of arms and equipment to help Ukrainian forces," National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters. "President Biden looks forward to hearing President Zelensky's perspective on all of this and to reaffirm for the world and for the United States, for the American people, his commitment to continuing to lead the world in supporting Ukraine as it defends its independence, its sovereignty, and its territorial integrity."
Sullivan also indicated another round of military assistance could be announced in the near future but did not provide a specific timeline. The U.S. has provided Ukraine with more than $40 billion of military aid since Russia invaded in February 2022.
Biden and members of his administration have reiterated that they will support Ukraine for as long as it takes for them to retake occupied territory, though there are a growing number of lawmakers who no longer or never have supported providing aid. The largest such bloc on Capitol Hill is within the Republican Party in the House of Representatives.
Next week, Biden will travel to New York City for the United Nations General Assembly, ahead of his meeting with Zelensky. Biden will deliver an address to the General Assembly next Tuesday where he will "lay out for the world the steps that he and his administration have taken to advance a vision of American leadership that is built on the premise of working with others to solve the world's most pressing problems," Sullivan added.
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The president will meet with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres; the presidents of five Central Asian nations, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan; Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva; and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Also next week, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will travel to Ramstein Air Base in Germany where they will lead the latest gathering of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. Defense leaders from roughly 50 countries will be in attendance to discuss Ukraine's most pressing needs.