“President Biden affirmed the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression in the Donbass and Crimea,” a U.S. statement said.
President Biden assured me that Ukraine will never be left alone against Russia’s aggression,” the Ukrainian president said in a video statement afterwards.
Russia said this week that an escalation in Donbass could “destroy” Ukraine and warned against any NATO deployment.
Ukraine, Western countries and NATO accuse Russia of sending troops and heavy weapons to prop up proxies in Donbass who seized a swathe of eastern Ukraine in 2014.
Russia says it only provides political and humanitarian support to separatist fighters in what it casts as an internal conflict.
Biden, a point person for Ukraine when vice president for Barack Obama, also stressed Washington’s support for Zelenskiy’s anti-corruption and reform agenda.
Biden also expressed a wish to visit Ukraine again, as he had as vice president, Zelenskiy’s office said. »