Biden to announce actions to accelerate support for Ukraine's military on Thursday

WASHINGTON

US President Joe Biden said he will announce a series of actions on Thursday to accelerate support for Ukraine's military in its war against Russia.

"Today, we're launching a Joint Declaration of Support for Ukrainian Recovery and Reconstruction to make it clear we stand with Ukraine, now and in the future," said Biden as he hosted an event with world leaders launching the declaration on Wednesday.

"That starts on the battlefield. I'm determined to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to prevail and fight for survival," he said.

"But we know victory is about more than what happens on the battlefield. It's also about what Ukrainians do to make the most of a free and independent future," he added.

The event came on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's 79th session in New York.

Biden said the declaration received important commitments from over 30 countries and the European Union.

"As Ukraine continues to make necessary reforms to fight corruption, we're committed to providing Ukraine with the resources it needs to build back stronger than it was before," he said.

Biden also said that Russian attacks have caused significant damage to Ukraine but highlighted Ukraine's economic resilience and said its GDP is stable and growing.

"Together, we can help Ukraine go for economic resilience, economic revival. Second, we commit to hold Russia accountable for the damage that it has caused," he added.

Speaking at the conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the declaration "truly strong" and focused on rebuilding Ukraine.

"This is a shared commitment to help rebuild Ukraine and support our path to the EU... And it is crucial that this support becomes tangible this year," he said.

"It is absolutely justified that those who help us with them now will be the first to benefit together with Ukraine from the large-scale reconstruction. Security and prosperity are entirely intertwined, and one cannot exist without the other," he added.

Declaration

In the declaration, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries reaffirm their support for Ukraine, saying they "remain determined to provide military, budget, humanitarian and reconstruction support.”

They said that Russia has the responsibility under international law to pay for the damage it is causing in Ukraine.

"We reaffirm that, consistent with all applicable laws and our respective legal systems, Russia’s sovereign assets in our jurisdictions will remain immobilized until Russia ends its aggression and pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine," said the declaration.

They also commit to use their economic assistance to ensure that Ukraine maintains macro-financial stability, to repair and build critical infrastructure, including in the energy sector, to boost economic growth and to support social resilience as well as the implementation of priority reforms.

"Third, we are continuing our joint work to implement the decision made at the G7 Summit in Apulia to launch Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) Loans for Ukraine by the end of the year, in order to make available approximately USD 50 billion in additional funding to Ukraine," said the declaration.

The partnering nations, it said, will continue to assess and monitor progress on the commitments through Ukraine Donor Platform meetings and the annual Ukraine Recovery Conference, the next edition of which will be hosted by Italy in 2025.