Sullivan made the remarks en route to Paris, where he will accompany US President Joe Biden to attend a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings along the Normandy coast during World War II, followed by the president’s state visit to France.

He said the US has been offering training to Ukrainian soldiers outside of Ukrainian territory. In Germany, “thousands of Ukrainian soldiers” are being trained on how to operate Western-made military equipment, the official added. “We stand ready to continue, and in fact expand that training”, Sullivan said.

Responding reports that French President Emmanuel Macron is mulling the dispatch of military instructors into Ukraine, Sullivan said the US “will have the opportunity to speak with the French president and the French team on the ground.”

The same day, the White House announced that President Joe Biden will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky while he is in Normandy, France and during the 50th G7 Summit in Italy next week to discuss the situation in Ukraine. Biden, however, will not attend the Ukraine Peace Summit in Switzerland. Instead, Vice President Kamala Harris and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will represent the US at the summit.