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KYIV, Ukraine — President Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, Ukrainian officials said, amid a broad push by the U.S. to show its support for Kyiv against heightened Russian military pressure along Ukraine’s border.
The roughly 50-minute talk between the presidents was the first since Biden’s inauguration in January, and is certain to bring a big boost to Zelensky at home, where his critics were wondering why Biden appeared to be keeping his distance from the Ukrainian leader.
With Russia’s military mobilizing along Ukraine’s borders, Biden’s call is the latest of a flurry of efforts to reassure Kyiv. Earlier this week, there were calls between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and their Ukrainian counterparts.
On Monday, Biden’s national-security adviser, Jake Sullivan, held a phone conversation with Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak.
An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com.
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