At the G7 summit
Financial and military aid: USA and Ukraine sign agreement
At the meeting between Volodymyr Selenskyj (l.) and Joe Biden (r.) in Paris in early June, the security agreement between the USA and Ukraine was not yet ready for signature
© Evan Vucci/AP / DPA
On the sidelines of the G7 summit, US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy want to sign an agreement that should also pave the way for Ukraine to join NATO.
With the agreement, the United States pledges further assistance against Russia’s war of aggression and potential future attacks, but without providing any security guarantees. The USA also wants to help the partner country become fit for NATO membership.
The agreement broadly regulates cooperation between the two countries at all possible levels, including with regard to military equipment, training and maneuvers. At the same time, Ukraine is called upon to implement various reforms: for example in the areas of justice, law enforcement and the fight against corruption, but also in military capabilities and structures in order to achieve NATO standards in the future.
USA for Ukraine in NATO
“The United States reaffirms that Ukraine’s future lies in NATO,” says the document published by the US government on Thursday. However, it is also clear that from the US perspective, Ukraine still has a long way to go before it can join the military alliance.
75th anniversary
From the Cold War to today: the history of NATO in pictures
As expected, the agreement does not contain any commitments to the deployment of American forces to defend Ukraine. Biden has always categorically ruled this out – despite recent appeals by French President Emmanuel Macron to send military trainers there. Rather, the US government says it is concerned with ensuring that Ukraine continues to be able to defend itself. The agreement also makes no commitments to the delivery of specific weapons systems.
Security agreement as a message
The US government viewed the agreement with Kyiv as a message to Moscow that it was committed to continued and long-term support for Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February 2022 and has been waging a large-scale war of aggression against its neighboring country ever since. The United States is Kyiv’s most important ally in the defensive struggle. Both sides had been negotiating the bilateral security agreement for a long time. Zelensky had expressed the hope of making it the strongest of all agreements. And indeed, the commitments made by the military power of the United States are of particular value to Ukraine.
Financial and military aid
Kiev had previously signed similar agreements with a dozen countries, including Germany. A similar agreement was signed with Japan on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy. The agreements promise Kiev financial and military aid for an initial period of ten years. No country has yet given security guarantees.
Bombed cities, destroyed infrastructure: How Scholz and Selenskyj plan to rebuild Ukraine
02:38mins
The background is that the G7 group of western economic powers committed themselves at the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius last year to better protect Ukraine with long-term military and financial aid. A corresponding declaration was signed. Other states joined the agreement with the G7 at the time. However, the declaration fell far short of the security guarantee that joining NATO would offer. In the defense alliance, all NATO states are obliged to provide military assistance in the event of an attack.
Ukraine is making intensive efforts to become a NATO member. However, it is unlikely that the country will be accepted into the military alliance any time soon. In the meantime, the bilateral agreements are intended to serve as a bridge.