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The peace Europe has enjoyed since the end of World War II has been erased by the aggression of Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, and is a threat to the entire continent, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
"We live in times when Europe again stopped being a continent of peace," Zelenskiy told the French parliament in Paris on June 7 ahead of a crucial meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden later in the day.
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"We live in times when Nazism is returning again, unfortunately. Now in Europe again cities are being destroyed and villages are being burned to ashes. In Europe again we have filtration camps, deportations, and hatred that became a new cult in Russia."
Biden and Zelenskiy, who both attended 80th anniversary commemorations of the D-Day landings in Normandy this week, have not yet met in person since the U.S. House of Representatives approved $61 billion in military aid for Ukraine after months of delay prompted by Republican bickering.
In a speech during the D-Day commemorations on June 6, Biden said the free world stands with Ukraine and won't cave in to Russian aggression, drawing a parallel with the Allies' fight to liberate Europe from Nazi Germany's subjugation in World War II.
The United States and NATO "will not walk away" and abandon Ukraine, Biden said.
"Make no mistake: We will not bow down, we cannot surrender to the bullies; it is simply unthinkable. If we do, freedom will be subjugated, all Europe will be threatened," Biden said in Colleville-sur-Mer at a ceremony hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and attended by Zelenskiy and other heads of state.
Neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor any other officials from Russia were invited to the commemoration.
"Ukraine has been invaded by a tyrant, they're fighting with extraordinary courage, suffering great losses but never backing down," Biden said describing Putin as a "tyrant bent on domination."
The U.S. president, meanwhile, hailed NATO as "the greatest military alliance in the world" and said it is "more determined than ever to keep peace."
Ukraine's longstanding bid to join the 32-member alliance is likely to figure high on the agenda of the talks with Zelenskiy, after Biden told Time magazine in an interview that he did not support NATO membership for Ukraine -- a position at odds with that of NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg -- which is likely to raise questions from the Ukrainian leader.
U.S. President Joe Biden marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day on June 6 by saying that "we will not walk away" from the defense of Ukraine and allow Russia to threaten more of Europe.
In the wide-ranging June 4 interview with Time, Biden said that "peace looks like making sure Russia never, never, never, never occupies Ukraine. That's what peace looks like."
But, he added, "It doesn't mean NATO, [that] they are part of NATO."
"It means we have a relationship with them like we do with other countries, where we supply weapons so they can defend themselves in the future. But...I am not prepared to support the NATOization of Ukraine."
Zelensky was to meet with Biden in Paris from 12 p.m. local time before talks in the evening from around 7 p.m. with Macron.
Following pleas from Ukraine to allow its forces to defend itself against attacks originating from Russian territory, and after pressure from some European leaders, Biden last week reversed Washington's position and gave Ukraine the go-ahead to use U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia for the limited purpose of defending the eastern city of Kharkiv.
Germany, where Zelenskiy is scheduled to address lawmakers next week, announced a similar change in policy shortly afterward.
Ahead of Biden's meeting with Zelenskiy, Stoltenberg has reiterated NATO's position that Ukraine has the right to strike inside Russia in self-defense.
"This is a war of attack that Russia has begun against a peaceful, democratic neighboring country, Ukraine, that at no point has been a threat to Russia," Stoltenberg said after a meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Stockholm on June 7.
"There is no question that Ukraine has the right to hit targets on Russian territory," Stoltenberg said.
After meeting with Zelesnkiy, Biden will return to Normandy later on June 7 to give a speech at 4 p.m. on defending freedom and democracy at the Pointe du Hoc, the promontory where German bunkers were attacked by U.S. Army rangers in a daring assault on June 6, 1944.
