By Trevor Hunnicutt, Idrees Ali, Sabine Siebold and John Irish

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden and leaders of other NATO member states are set to announce new aid and stress a membership pledge for Ukraine at a summit in Washington after Biden promised to defend Kyiv against the Russian invasion.

As Biden welcomed NATO leaders, the United States and Germany announced that the U.S. would start deploying longer-range missiles in Germany in 2026 in an effort to demonstrate its commitment to NATO and European defense.

A joint U.S.-German statement said the “episodic deployments” were in preparation for longer-term stationing of such capabilities that would include SM-6, Tomahawk and developmental hypersonic weapons with a greater range than current capabilities in Europe.

A draft communique prepared for the meeting of the 32-nation alliance said the allies intend to provide Ukraine with minimum funding of 40 billion euros ($43.28 billion) in military aid within the next year, but stopped short of the multi-year commitment NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had sought.

The draft, seen by Reuters, also strengthened past NATO language on China, calling it a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war effort in Ukraine and saying Beijing continues to pose systemic challenges to Euro-Atlantic security.

Biden said in a speech on Tuesday that NATO was “stronger than it’s ever been” and that Ukraine can and will stop Russian President Vladimir Putin “with our full, collective support.”

However, November’s U.S. presidential election could presage a sharp change in Washington’s support for Ukraine and NATO. Republican candidate Donald Trump, 78, has questioned the amount of aid given to Ukraine to fight Russia’s invasion, and U.S. support for allies generally.

QUESTIONS ABOUT BIDEN FITNESS

Biden, 81, has faced questions about his fitness for office after fumbling a June 27 debate and hopes the NATO spotlight will help him stage a comeback of sorts, surrounded by allied leaders he has spent his three years in office cultivating.

Uncertainty about U.S. leadership has unsettled NATO allies.

“If there’s one thing that I’m concerned about with the United States, it’s the polarization of the political climate – it is, I have to admit, very toxic,” Alexander Stubb, president of new NATO ally Finland, told reporters on Wednesday.

“But when I meet 15 senators, as I just did at the Senate, there’s strong bipartisan support for Ukraine and also for NATO.”

While Biden has been seeking to rally allies and domestic support, several high-ranking European officials met a top foreign policy adviser to Trump during the summit.

Stoltenberg told reporters he expected allies will agree a “substantial” package for Ukraine would involve a new NATO command for Ukraine to provide security assistance and training, and a long-term pledge to continue and sustain support for Kyiv.

There would be new announcements of immediate military support, he said, including air defense and moves to ensure full interoperability between Ukrainian forces and NATO forces.

NATO members have already announced the delivery of five additional Patriot and other strategic air defense systems to help Ukraine.

The draft declaration, which needs to be agreed by all NATO states, says the alliance will continue to support Ukraine “on its irreversible path to full Euro-atlantic integration, including NATO membership”.

It also reaffirms that NATO will “be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree and conditions are met.”

The standoff with Russia over Ukraine, which Moscow invaded in 2022, heads the NATO agenda. The summit also gives leaders a chance to address other vexing security issues, including the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and deepening bonds between Russia, Iran, China and North Korea.

The draft summit statement called on China to cease all material and political support for Russia’s war effort. It expressed concern about China’s space capabilities, referenced the rapid expansion of its nuclear arsenal, and urged Beijing to engage in strategic risk reduction discussions.

ZELENSKIY ON CAPITOL HILL

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to meet with leaders of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and some of the committees involved in defense, spending, diplomacy and national security who will vote on future aid for his country. He is expected to thank them for $175 billion already approved since Russia invaded in February 2022 and to call for more.

Reuters reported last month that two Trump advisers had presented Zelenskiy with a plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine – if Trump wins the election – that involves telling Kyiv it will get more U.S. weapons only if it enters peace talks.

Any such talks appear a long way off. In a speech in Washington on Tuesday evening, Zelenskiy said the losses from the war were “difficult” and that seeing dead children “you want to kill Putin at this moment.”

In Congress, dozens of Trump’s closest allies have voted repeatedly against assisting Zelenskiy’s government, although Democrats and more internationally focused Republicans have worked together to approve the existing aid levels.

A senior NATO official said this week that Russia lacks the munitions and troops to start a major offensive in Ukraine, but that it could sustain its war economy for three to four more years. Ukraine also has not yet amassed the munitions and personnel it needs to mount its own large-scale offensive operations, the official said.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Biden is expected to meet new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for their first face-to-face talks since Starmer’s Labour Party won a landslide election victory that ended 14 years of Conservative rule. The countries are key trans-Atlantic allies.

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