Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is on his way to Washington for a summit with President Joe Biden and will address the U.S. Congress on his first trip abroad since the Russian invasion began in February. was. On Wednesday, Zelensky said on his Twitter account that the visit was aimed at “increasing Ukraine’s resilience and defense capabilities” and discussed cooperation between Biden and his country and the United States. The highly sensitive trip takes place ten months after a brutal war that left tens of thousands dead and injured on both sides of the conflict and devastated Ukrainian civilians. “Weapons deliveries continue and the range of weapons delivered is expanding. Of course, all this leads to an exacerbation of the conflict. This does not bode well for Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters about Western countries’ arms sales to Ukraine.
The U.S. Congress is expected to vote on a year-end spending package that includes about $45 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine while the Pentagon prepares to send Patriot surface-to-air missiles to the country for defense. increase. “Firstly, both the visit itself and the level of meetings planned testify to the high level of trust between the two countries. “I’m trying to prove that it’s been claimed that the relationship is cooling down.” Ukraine needs “… guns, guns and more guns. It is important to explain personally why we need certain types of weapons. Especially armored vehicles, modern missile defense systems, and long-range missiles,” he added. Mr. Zelensky was scheduled to meet Mr. Biden at the White House in the afternoon and then attend a press conference in the East Room. He was scheduled to speak the night before the tournament.
In her invitation to Zelenskyy to address a joint meeting of Congress at the US Capitol, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said “the fight for Ukraine is the fight for democracy itself” and that lawmakers “look forward to hearing your inspiring message of unity, resilience, and determination”. US and Ukrainian officials have made clear they don’t envision an imminent resolution to the war and are preparing for fighting to continue for some time. Biden has repeated that while the US will arm and train Ukraine, American forces will not be directly engaged in the conflict.
Zelenskyy accepted the invitation on Friday and it was confirmed on Sunday when the White House began coordinating with Pelosi to arrange the congressional address. The White House consulted with Zelenskyy on security for his departure from Ukraine and travel to Washington, including the risk of Russian action while Zelenskyy was briefly out of the country, the official added, declining to detail the measures taken to safeguard the Ukrainian leader. It’s not clear exactly when the Patriot would arrive on the front lines in Ukraine since US troops will have to train Ukrainian forces on how to use the high-tech system. Training can last several weeks and will likely take place in Germany. To date, all training of Ukrainian forces by the United States and its Western allies has taken place in European countries.
