US and Ukraine have started work on security agreement, Zelensky says

Kyiv, Ukraine - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday said that Kyiv and Washington had started talks on a bilateral security cooperation deal and finalized plans to send more long-range missiles to Ukraine's armed forces.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (l.) on Monday said that he had held a telephone call with President Joe Biden (r.) after the US Congress finally advanced a long-stalled package of military aid for Kyiv over the weekend.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (l.) on Monday said that he had held a telephone call with President Joe Biden (r.) after the US Congress finally advanced a long-stalled package of military aid for Kyiv over the weekend.  © Chip Somodevilla / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Kyiv has signed several 10-year security agreements with NATO countries that outline long-term Western support for Ukraine in the face of a Russian invasion now in its third year.

"Our teams – Ukraine and the United States – have started working on a bilateral security agreement," Zelensky said in his evening address on social media, adding that it could be a "truly exemplary" deal.

The agreements signed so far – including with Britain, France, and Germany – are not mutual defense pacts but have symbolic importance as a show of commitment by the West to support Kyiv militarily, politically, and financially for years to come.

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Zelensky held a telephone call with US President Joe Biden earlier on Monday after the US Congress finally advanced a long-stalled package of military aid for Kyiv over the weekend.

The Ukrainian leader said after the call that "all the dots have been dotted in the agreements on ATACMS [Army Tactical Missile Systems] for Ukraine."

Cover photo: Chip Somodevilla / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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