Joe Biden has canceled a planned four-day trip to Germany, where he was expected to attend a summit on Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s “victory plan” for Ukraine. The White House announced on Tuesday that Biden will remain in the U.S. to oversee preparations and responses to Hurricane Milton, which is set to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday.
It remains uncertain how Biden’s absence will impact the summit, which was set to be the first gathering of world leaders at the U.S. Ramstein airbase in Germany. The summit was intended to focus on military aid to Kyiv, and Zelenskyy was expected to present the latest version of his strategy for ending the war, emphasizing Ukraine’s desire to use Western long-range missiles like the Storm Shadow inside Russia.
Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, expressed understanding of Biden’s decision and promised that the summit would be rescheduled. Other leaders, including the UK’s Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron, were also expected to attend, alongside 20 world leaders in total.
The meeting was designed to show ongoing support for Ukraine, even as concerns linger about how long that support might last, especially if Donald Trump wins the U.S. presidential election next month. Trump has long been skeptical of military aid to Ukraine and has suggested a “fair deal” to end the war. He also claimed that his good relationship with Putin could help resolve the conflict quickly if he wins the election.
Zelenskyy’s goal at the summit was to clarify his partners’ positions and present Ukraine’s long-term strategy. On Tuesday, he indicated his intent to request additional air defense systems, like the Patriot, to counter Russian drone and missile strikes.
The summit’s cancellation came amid ongoing violence in Ukraine, with two people killed and five injured in a Russian bombing of an apartment building in Kharkiv on Tuesday. The attack followed another strike earlier in the day that left over 20 people injured.
Biden’s trip to Germany was also to be followed by a visit to Angola, fulfilling a promise to visit Africa during his presidency. Both trips have now been postponed, with the White House acknowledging that Biden has limited time remaining in office to reschedule them. “Three months is not a long time,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
