Former President Donald Trump confirmed Thursday that he is meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday morning at Trump Tower in New York.
The meeting, which was requested by Zelenskyy's request, Trump said, comes a day after President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with the Ukrainian president.
Biden announced nearly $8 billion in a new support package for Ukraine, which Zelenskyy called "a great help." The aid is comprised of $5.5 billion as a result of the president directing the Department of Defense "to allocate all of its remaining security assistance funding that has been appropriated for Ukraine by the end of my term in office," as well as $2.4 billion in security assistance for the country. The president also said that the U.S. will provide Ukraine with the Joint Standoff Weapon, which has long-range capabilities, among other security measures.
"Let me be clear: Russia will not prevail in war," Biden said ahead of his meeting with Zelenskyy. "Russia will not prevail. Ukraine will prevail, and we’ll continue to stand by you every step of the way."
The White House visit punctuated Democratic leaders' staunch support of Ukraine in its war with Russia but foreshadows a potential change in the countries' relationship if Trump clinches the election. (NBC News)
Trump has been an outspoken critic of U.S. aid to the war-torn country.
"It’s a shame what’s happening in Ukraine: so many deaths, so much destruction. It’s a horrible thing," Trump said on Thursday. "And one of the things that are very bothersome to me is the fact that Europe is paying only a small fraction of the money that the United States of America is paying, and we have an ocean between Russia and ourselves. They don’t."
🚨President Trump announces a meeting with President Zelensky tomorrow morning. pic.twitter.com/M19dUX7K6E
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 26, 2024
Trump has repeatedly said he could end the Russia-Ukraine war in one day if he’s elected, though Zelensky has questioned that, telling The New Yorker recently that his "feeling is that Trump doesn’t really know how to stop the war even if he might think he knows how."
