Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Joe Biden.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is headed to Washington for his first overseas visit since his country was invaded by Russia in February. America is Ukraine’s strongest backer in its struggle.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, 21 December 2022, that the tens of billions of dollars of aid it had approved to help it fight a Russian invasion was not charity, but an investment in global security.
“Your money is not charity,” Zelenskiy said, clad in the khaki fatigues that have been his public uniform throughout the 300 days of conflict. “It is an investment in the global security and democracy”, he added.
Following a meeting at the White House with Democratic President Joe Biden, Zelensky’s speech needed to resonate with House Republicans, who have voiced increasing skepticism about continuing to send so much aid to Ukraine.
“It is a great honor for me to be at the U.S. Congress and speak to you and all Americans. Against all doom and gloom scenarios, Ukraine did not fall. Ukraine is alive and kicking,” said Zelensky. “We defeated Russia in the battle for the minds of the world,” he added.
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Zelensky joined a long list of world leaders to address joint meetings of the Senate and House, a tradition that began in 1874 with a visit by Hawaiian King Kalakaua and included almost legendary wartime visits by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, as well as kings, queens and one pope.
House members and senators from both parties leaped repeatedly to their feet to cheer parts of Zelenskiy’s speech in English such as, “Ukraine holds its lines and will never surrender,” as he likened his country’s battle against Moscow’s forces to great battles of World War Two and even the American Revolution.
Although Zelensky said he discussed a 10-point Ukrainian peace formula with Biden, there are no signs of peace talks to end the war and both Russia and Ukraine have signaled a willingness to keep fighting.
“I’m glad that President Biden supported our peace initiative today. Each of you today ladies and gentlemen can assist in the implementation to ensure that American leadership remains solid, bicameral, and bipartisan,” Zelensky said to the lawmakers.
US Congress is on the verge of approving an additional $44.9 billion in new emergency military and economic assistance, on top of some $50 billion already sent to Ukraine this year.
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Daniel Fried, former U.S. ambassador to Poland and a fellow at the Atlantic Council, said Zelensky’s trip demonstrated that he and Biden share a belief that the United States, despite its faults, is leader of the free world.
Zelensky, Fried said, “didn’t go to Berlin, Brussels, London or Paris” for his first trip abroad since the start of the war.
The 44-year-old Zelensky, a former comedian and actor, also visited Washington on a day that the Senate overwhelmingly confirmed a new ambassador to Russia.
The optics of Zelensky’s welcome as a defender of democracy carried a message far deeper than military aid. It was meant to signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the United States and its NATO allies remain steadfastly behind Ukraine, despite recent signs of impatience among some Republican lawmakers over the rising cost.
For Zelensky, whose wartime olive fatigues have become globally recognized, the House overlooked a rule that normally requires men to wear a jacket and tie inside the chamber.
