Dec 22- President Zelensky in Washington
The highlights of President Zelensky's visit to Washington, readings and a link to a video of his speech to the US Congress
Dec 20: President Zelensky’s Visit to Washington…
Here are the highlights from President Zelensky’s historic visit to Washington. Please click on some of the links for further reading as it’s not mean to be a comprehensive coverage of the day’s events.
President Zelenksky’s visit to Washington has now been confirmed- his first foreign visit since the war broke out.
US president Joe Biden has released a statement saying that Zelensky will go to the White House before addressing a joint session of Congress “demonstrating the strong, bipartisan support for Ukraine”.
That his first trip outside Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February is to the United States will also highlight President Joe Biden’s historic role in reviving the Western alliance that kept the Soviet Union at bay and is now countering new expansionism by Moscow in an effective proxy war between nuclear superpowers.
Zelensky’s arrival will draw poignant echoes of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s arrival in Washington, 81 years ago on Thursday, days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. That Christmas visit cemented the alliance that would win World War II and built the post-war democratic world.
Zelensky compared his nation’s resistance against Russia with Britain’s lonely defiance of the Nazis in the days before the US entered World War II during a video address to the UK Parliament earlier this year, and his arrival in the US capital will sharpen the parallels to the earlier meeting of Churchill and President Franklin Roosevelt.
His visit is unfolding amid extraordinary security. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wouldn’t even confirm the early reports that she’d welcome Zelensky to the US Capitol in an unexpected coda to her speakership, saying on Tuesday evening, “We don’t know yet. We just don’t know.”
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has published an open letter to Zelenskiy inviting him to address Congress in person on Wednesday.
Dec 21: The day’s events…
The Ukrainian president’s trip and meeting with his US counterpart will provide an opportunity to explain the real situation in Ukraine, what weapons Kyiv needs to fight Moscow, and why it needs them, Podolyak told Reuters. He said:
Firstly, both the visit itself and the level of planned meetings unequivocally testify to the high degree of trust between the countries. Secondly, this finally puts an end to the attempts by the Russian side ... to prove an allegedly growing cooling in our bilateral relations. This, of course, is not even close. The United States unequivocally supports Ukraine.
Zelensky is carrying a Ukrainian flag signed by soldiers as a gift for Biden and Congress
"The boys gave me our wonderful flag with their signatures written down on it to hand over," Zelensky told reporters traveling with him.
"Our situation is tough. The enemy increases the number of its troops, but our guys are more courageous. We need stronger weapons. We will pass on gratitude from our boys to the US Congress and US President for their support, but it [support] is not enough."
Air raid warnings began early this morning across all Ukraine. Multiple press sources in Ukraine reporting explosions in Kryvyi Rih, Russian Aircraft in the air #news
10:15 ET: President Zelenskiy arrived in the US, Weijia Jiang of CBS News writes, where he is expected to meet President Joe Biden at the White House and address a joint session of Congress.
The US is reportedly considering formally designating Russia as an “aggressor state” with lawmakers waiting to receive Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s approval of the proposal when he addresses Congress tonight. The “aggressor state” label is less hawkish than the “state sponsor of terrorism” label that many lawmakers had been pushing the administration to impose on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Blinken announced an additional $1.85 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, including the first transfer of the Patriot missile defense system.
“Pursuant to a delegation of authority from the President, today I am authorizing our twenty-eighth drawdown of U.S. arms and equipment for Ukraine since August 2021. This $1 billion drawdown will provide Ukraine with expanded air defense and precision-strike capabilities, as well as additional munitions and critical equipment that Ukraine is using so effectively to defend itself on the battlefield,” Blinken said in a statement.
President Zelensky and President Biden’s bilateral meeting
2:45 pm ET: "Mr. President, it's good to have you back," Biden told Zelensky. "It's an honor to be by your side in the united defense against what is a brutal, brutal war waged by Putin."
"Hard to believe, 300 days going through this, and Putin has waged a brutal assault on the Ukrainians' right to exist as a nation, and the attack on innocent Ukrainian people for no reason other than to intimidate," Biden added, noting the escalated Russian attacks on energy and civil infrastructure.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky presented US President Joe Biden with a Ukrainian Hero's award after both leaders spoke to reporters from the White House.
"One guy who's really, really a hero, real captain, and he asked me to pass his award, and he asked me to pass his award President Biden," Zelensky said. "He's very brave and he said give it to very brave President, and I want to give you, that is a cross for military merit."
The UN will allocate an additional $20 million from the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund to support over 300 civil society organizations and volunteer groups.
President Zelensky’s address to the US Congress…
If you missed President Zelensky’s address to the US Congress, I hope you can take time to listen to it carefully today. It’s very well crafted. I teared up at some points.
You could tell it was coming directly from his heart and soul, especially when President Zelensky talked about the battle raging around Bakhmut, and how the Ukrainian forces are holding the territory there.
Claire Berlinski noted how wonderful it was to see Congress so united, and I’ll add that the atmosphere of solidarity was palpable. Seeing Congressmen and women rise to their feet spontaneously in encouragement, applauding President Zelensky’s thoughts, which he had brought from Ukraine on behalf of the Ukrainian people, was truly heart-warming.
President Zelensky has stood up to the task as war-time president. Thirty-six hours before his visit to Washington, he was in Bakhmut, decorating the soldiers holding the line there. That’s courage- plain and simple. Then in Washington to thank American law-makers, speak with President Biden, to underscore what is it necessary to continue to beat back the Russian forces. It’s not just about defence: this is about Ukrainian indepedence.
His speech achieved something that is rare today. He expressed the needs of Ukraine, the desire of its people, and how they are standing in defence of our collective core values through an emotional and rational appeal. This appeal will remain with us as a constant reminder of what is necessary to uphold and protect our nations, our people, and our democracies. “Your money is not charity. It is an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way,” Zelensky said.
Let’s get to the address. He began with these words:
“It is a great honour for me to be at the US Congress and speak to you and all Americans. Against all doom-and-gloom scenarios, Ukraine did not fall. Ukraine is alive and kicking,” he said. “We defeated Russia in the battle for the minds of the world.”
Max Boot, Opinion- Give Ukraine the ability to strike every inch of Russian occupied territory- WaPo
I can understand the administration not wanting U.S. weapons to be used for attacks on Russian soil, but the Zelensky government has proved to be a reliable partner that has abided by U.S. restrictions. Moreover, the most valuable targets for longer-range strikes are in Ukraine, not Russia.
The Ukrainian military has enabled successful offensives around both Kharkiv in the east and Kherson in the south by targeting Russian headquarters, supply lines and ammunition depots to wear down enemy forces. Gaining access to longer-range “fires” will enable the Ukrainians to more effectively strike such military targets across the width and breadth of Russian-occupied territory. That includes Crimea, which remains out of HIMARS range. Such strikes, in turn, will enable future offensives that can bring this awful war to a conclusion.
The United States shouldn’t enable attacks against targets in Russia. But it should definitely enable more effective Ukrainian strikes on Russian supply lines and bases all over occupied Ukraine.