Biden's visit to Ukraine 'not on cards' during upcoming trip to Europe for G7, NATO meet

US President Joe Biden is unlikely to visit Ukraine during his upcoming trip to Europe for the Group of Seven (G7) and NATO leaders summit. Speaking to media on Monday during his vacation in Delaware, Biden told reporters that he is "not likely" to stop by the embattled ex-Soviet nation as he "does not want to cause more difficulty for Ukrainians," CNN reported. This confirmation comes after the White House on several occasions in the past months said that Biden will not visit Kyiv amid the war situation.

Biden has refused to visit Kyiv despite an invitation from his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy last spring. Speaking to CNN, Zelenskyy had called on the leader to "come and see" the situation in Ukraine. Notably, the nearest to Ukraine Biden has gone is Poland, where he suggested that even though he wanted to travel across the border "they will not let" him.

Biden's Europe trip

Biden's trip to Europe will include a halt at the Bavarian Alps for the G7 Summit and then Madrid for a meeting with the leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The G7 Summit, including State heads of Canada, the UK, France, Japan, Germany, the US, and the European Union, will primarily focus on the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine. The high-profile meeting will take place on June 26. Following that, Biden will be in attendance at the NATO leaders' meeting, where the members will discuss ways to alleviate help to Ukraine in order to strengthen its defence against Russia's brutal onslaught.

Biden's decision to not visit Kyiv comes despite growing US support for Ukraine. Last week on June 15, Washington approved an additional $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine, including shipments of additional Howitzers, ammunition, and coastal defence systems. This is the 12th tranche allocated for Ukraine after the $700 million packages announced earlier in June, bringing the total military assistance to Ukraine in 2022 to over $4.6 billion.

Biden believes Ukraine 'very likely' to become EU member

Speaking to reporters at Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, the US President said that he believes Ukraine is "very likely" to gain European Union membership in the coming week. This comes after EU President Ursula von der Leyen last Friday recommended that Kyiv can be given candidacy in the union.

(Image: AP)