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President Joe Biden told his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Wednesday that the United States will give Ukraine an additional $500 million in aid, the White House said in a statement.
The U.S. did not clarify whether that money will be for humanitarian purposes or will come in the form of military aid.
According to the White House, the two leaders spoke on the phone for about an hour, between 11.08 (15.08 GMT) and 12.03 local time (16.03 GMT).
During the call, they discussed efforts by the United States and its allies to identify “additional capabilities” with which to assist the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
They also addressed the military aid the Biden administration has already sent to Ukraine and the “critical effect” that these weapons have had on the conflict, according to the White House.
On Twitter, Zelensky said he spoke with Biden about military and humanitarian aid, as well as “a new enhanced sanctions package,” of which neither side offered further details.
Also, according to Zelensky and the White House, the two leaders discussed the situation on the battlefield and the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, who met on Tuesday in Istanbul (Turkey) to approach positions for a ceasefire.
In those talks, Russian negotiators pledged to significantly reduce the number of troops around Kyiv and the besieged northern city of Chernobyl to focus on the conquest of the Donbas, the Kremlin’s primary objective.
For their part, Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul said that Ukraine is ready to renounce membership to any military alliance, including NATO, if in return it receives written security guarantees from ten countries (the United Kingdom, China, Russia, the United States, France, Turkey, Germany, Canada, Poland and Israel).
Neither Zelensky nor the White House referred to this request from Ukraine, which wants this agreement with the United States and other nations to be a way to resolve any new conflict with Russia
The Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24 and has left at least four million refugees, according to UNHCR.
