Ukraine's Zelensky signing security agreements with Germany, France as Kyiv shores up support

Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bilateral security agreement with Germany and planned to sign another with France on Friday, securing a strong signal of long-term backing

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bilateral security agreement with Germany and planned to sign another with France on Friday, securing a strong signal of long-term backing as Kyiv works to shore up Western support nearly two years after Russia launched its full-scale war.

Mr. Zelensky met in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who said Berlin was providing another 1.1 billion-euro ($1.2 billion) package of military aid, including 36 howitzers, 120,000 rounds of artillery ammunition and two more air-defense systems.

Mr. Scholz described the long-term security accord as a “historic step.” It's Ukraine's second such bilateral agreement after one signed last month with the U.K.

Mr. Zelensky plans to sign another one with President Emmanuel Macron in France later Friday. He said more were in the works with other countries. “Ukraine has never yet had more valuable and stronger documents,” the president said.

The security agreements appear aimed primarily at sending a message of long-term solidarity as Ukraine has gone back on the defensive in the war, hindered by low ammunition supplies and a shortage of personnel.

“Two years after the beginning of this terrible war, we are sending a crystal-clear message today to the Russian president: we will not ease off in our support for Ukraine,” Mr. Scholz said. He put his country’s deliveries and pledges of military aid so far at a total 28 billion euros.

The German agreement, which is valid for 10 years, underscores Germany's “intention to provide long-term military support to the Ukrainian security and defense forces.” It says Germany and Ukraine “will work together on ensuring a sustainable force capable of defending Ukraine now and deterring future aggression in the future.”