President Joe Biden will mark the one-month anniversary of Russ ia’s invasion of Ukraine with a trio of global summits in Europe on Thursday. His first event, a usually pro-forma “family photo” of leaders, will take on new weight as a visual demonstration of the allies’ coordinated response. Keeping everyone united as the war grinds on is a key goal of the trip Biden’s third overseas.
“What we would like to hear is that the resolve in unity that we’ve seen for the past month will endure for as long as it takes,” Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, told reporters traveling with the president on Air Force One. “That’s at a top line.”
Biden will address an emergency NATO summit at which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also speak before meeting with the leaders of the other G-7 countries and speaking to all 27 leaders of European Union countries. Biden is scheduled to cap the day with a news conference.
The U.S. and its allies are expected to announce new sanctions on Russia, additional humanitarian assistance for Ukrainians, and to call on China to condemn the invasion. They’ll discuss how to respond to a cyber, nuclear or chemical attack by Russia and what level of force presence is needed in Eastern Europe in the near and longer term.
“The decisions we take tomorrow will have far-reaching implications,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday. “Major reinforcements to our security will require major investments in defense.” Meanwhile, Ukraine’s navy reported Thursday that it had sunk the Russian ship Orsk in the Sea of Asov near the port city of Berdyansk. It released photos and video of fire and thick smoke coming from the port area. Russia did not immediately comment on the claim.
As many as 15,000 Russian troops have been killed since the invasion of Ukraine began four weeks ago, according to NATO’s first estimate. The Russian stock market resumed limited trading Thursday under heavy restrictions almost one month after prices plunged and the market was shut down following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine
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