Biden announces $425 million in military aid for Ukraine

US President Joe Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday about efforts to surge security assistance to Ukraine and announced a new $425 million (AED 1.5 billion) military aid package, the White House said.

The security package includes air defense capability, air-to-ground munitions, armored vehicles and critical munitions, the White House said in a statement.

Zelenskiy, writing on Telegram, expressed gratitude to Biden, both parties of Congress and the American people for the new package and said he spoke to Biden about Kyiv's five-point "victory plan," which he presented to parliament on Wednesday.

"I proposed considering the possibility of joint weapons production," he said. "We also discussed the importance of additional training for Ukrainian soldiers."

Ukraine, he said, thanked the United States "for its readiness to help Ukraine strengthen its positions to compel Russia towards honest diplomacy."

Ukraine's Zelenskiy will present a "victory plan" to the EU and NATO on Thursday, "to end the war no later than next year," calling for an invitation to NATO and permission from the west to strike deep into Russian territory.

The leader's allies have so far declined to grant his requests. 

Zelenskiy argued NATO could issue an invitation now, even if membership itself comes further down the line.

The Kremlin said it was too early to comment in detail on the plan, but that Kyiv needed to "sober up" and realise the futility of the policies it was pursuing.

Russia has cited Ukraine's intention to join NATO as a reason behind the invasion in 2022.