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This is VOA News. Via remote, I'm Marissa Melton. U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to visit Washington next month. And he made the invitation during a phone call between the two leaders ahead of Biden's trip to Europe later this week. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House Monday that the two leaders had the opportunity, these are his words, "to talk at some length about all of the issues in the U.S.-Ukraine relationship." He said President Biden told the Ukrainian leader that the United States will stand up firmly for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Sullivan also said Biden told the Ukrainian president that he looks forward to welcoming him to the White House here in Washington this summer after he returns from Europe. Zelensky later confirmed that the U.S. president invited him to visit in July. Ukraine is seeking from Washington additional military aid as it continues to battle Russian-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country. It also seeks backing for its bid for NATO membership. Biden departs Wednesday on his first overseas trip as president that will have him interacting with several dozen leaders at the G7 summit in the United Kingdom as well as at NATO and European Union gatherings in Brussels. Biden is said to have his first face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 16th in Geneva.
U.S. law enforcement officials say they have hit back at the Russian-based criminal network that caused gas pipelines to shut down across parts of the country last month. The Justice Department announced Monday it had recovered $2.3 million of the approximately $5 million Colonial Pipeline paid to the DarkSide network following the ransomware attack which resulted in fuel shortages along the east coast of the United States. This is VOA News.
