Biden tells Zelenski of new US aid of 225 million dollars

US President Joe Biden told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodimir Zelenski on Friday of new US aid worth 225 million dollars. 

‘The United States will always be with you,’ Biden said during a meeting in Paris with Zelenski, who thanked him for Washington's ‘enormous support’ in his war to defend Ukraine against the Russian invasion. 

The two men are in France for ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, which brought Western leaders together with Zelenski in northwestern France the day before, but without his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. 

Addressing the French National Assembly (lower house), Zelenski said that ‘Europe is no longer a continent of peace’ and that Putin is a ‘common enemy’ of Ukraine and Europe. 

In the presence of the Ukrainian president, the Franco-German arms group KNDS made official on Friday the creation of a subsidiary in Ukraine to produce equipment and ammunition. 

Western countries have stepped up their aid to Kiev as Russia gains ground in its offensive launched in February 2022 to invade Ukraine. 

On Thursday night, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the supply of Mirage-2000 fighter jets and the training of Ukrainian pilots in France starting this summer. 

Macron also indicated that France had proposed training 4,500 soldiers on Ukrainian territory. 

The Kremlin on Friday accused France of being ‘ready’ to ‘participate directly in the conflict’ in Ukraine.