Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a defiant wartime visit to Washington on Wednesday to thank US leaders and “ordinary Americans” for their support in the fight against Russian encroachment and vowed not to there would be “no compromise” in trying to end the war. Joe Biden and Congress responded with billions in new aid and a promise to help Ukraine pursue a “just peace.”
Biden welcomed Zelenskyy to the Oval Office, saying the US and Ukraine will continue to project a “united defense” as Russia mounts a “brutal attack on Ukraine’s right to exist as a nation.”
President Joe Biden welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (AP) Zelenskyy, on his first known trip outside his country since Russia invaded in February, he said. wanted to visit earlier and his visit now showed that “the situation is under control, thanks to your support”.
Pressed on how Ukraine would seek to end the conflict, Zelenskyy rejected Biden’s formulation of a “just peace,” saying, “For me as president, ‘just peace’ is not a compromise.”
He said the war would end once Ukraine’s sovereignty, freedom and territorial integrity are restored, as well as “compensation for all damages inflicted by Russian aggression.”
“There can be no ‘just peace’ in the war that was imposed on us,” he added.
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The highly sensitive trip came after 10 months of a brutal war that has seen tens of thousands of casualties on both sides and devastation for Ukrainian civilians.
Zelenskyy’s visit was aimed at revitalizing support for his country in the United States and around the world, amid concerns that allies are growing weary of the costly war and its disruption of global food and energy supplies.
Just before his arrival, the United States announced a $1.8 billion military aid package for Ukraine, including for the first time Patriot surface-to-air missiles, and Congress was scheduled to vote on a spending package that includes about $45 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine.
Russia, Biden said, “is trying to use winter as a weapon, but Ukrainians continue to inspire the world.” Later, at a joint press conference, he said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has no intention of stopping this cruel war.”
The two leaders appeared to share a warm relationship, laughing at each other’s comments and patting each other on the back throughout the visit, although Zelenskyy made it clear that he will continue to press Biden and other Western leaders for more support.
President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walk along the White House colonnade, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) (AP)
He said that after the Patriot system is up and running, “we will send another signal to President Biden that we would like to have more Patriots.”
“We’re at war,” Zelenskyy added with a smile, while Biden laughed at the direct request. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Biden said it is “important for the American people, and for the world, to hear directly from you, Mr. President, about Ukraine’s struggle and the need to continue to unite through 2023.”
After the White House meeting, the Ukrainian president went to Capitol Hill, where he planned to make an address to Congress that he described as a “speech to the Americans.” Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to attend.
Zelenskyy headed abroad after making a daring and dangerous trip on Tuesday to what he called the hottest spot on the 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) war front, the town of Bakhmut in the disputed Donetsk province Ukraine He praised the Ukrainian troops for their “courage, resilience and strength” as artillery roared in the background.
Poland’s private broadcaster TVN24 said Zelenskyy crossed into Poland early Wednesday on his way to Washington. The station showed footage of what appeared to be Zelenskyy arriving at a train station and being escorted into a convoy of American SUVs. TVN24 said the video, partially blurred for security reasons, was shot in Przemysl, a Polish border town that has been the arrival point for many refugees fleeing the war.
Officials, citing security concerns, were tight-lipped about Zelenskyy’s travel plans, but a US official confirmed that Zelenskyy arrived on a US Air Force plane that landed at Joint Base Andrews, just outside from the capital, from the Polish city of Rzeszow.
Biden told Zelenskyy, who wore a sweatshirt and combat green boots during the Oval Office meeting, that “it’s an honor to be by your side.”
President Joe Biden speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as they meet in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) (AP)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in her invitation to Zelenskyy to speak to lawmakers, said that “the fight for Ukraine is the fight for democracy itself” and that they looked forward to “hearing your inspiring message of unity, resilience and determination.”
U.S. and Ukrainian officials have made clear they do not foresee an imminent resolution to the war and are preparing for the fighting to continue for some time. The latest infusion of US money would be the largest yet, and would exceed Biden’s $37 billion request.
Biden has repeated that while the US will arm and train Ukraine, US forces will not be directly involved in the war.
Biden and Zelenskyy first discussed the idea of a visit during a phone call on December 11, with a formal invitation three days later, according to a senior US administration official. 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.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, meets with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, right, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP)
The White House consulted with Zelenskiy about security, including the risk of Russian action while he was briefly out of the country, the official said, declining to elaborate on measures taken to safeguard the Ukrainian leader. The official spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the visit.
The latest US military aid package will include not only a battery of Patriot missiles, but precision-guided bombs for fighter jets, US officials said. It represents an expansion in the types of advanced weaponry intended to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses against what has been an increasing barrage of Russian missiles.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said the delivery of the advanced surface-to-air missile system would be considered a provocative step and that the system and any crew accompanying it would be a legitimate target for Moscow’s military.
“It’s a defensive system,” Biden said of sending the missile system. “It’s not escalating, it’s defensive.”
It was unclear when the Patriot battery would arrive at the frontline in Ukraine, given that US troops will have to train Ukrainian forces. The training, which is expected to take place in Germany, could last several months, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
President Joe Biden welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (AP)
The visit comes at an important time, with the White House bracing for more resistance when Republicans take control of the House in January and put more scrutiny on aid to Ukraine. GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy of California has said his party will not write a “blank check” for Ukraine.
Biden and Zelenskyy have spoken frequently by phone, with Biden praising Ukraine for standing firm against the Russians and Zelenskyy thanking the US president for his support.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer opened the chamber session by saying the passage of the aid package and the confirmation of the new US ambassador to Russia, Lynne M. Tracy, would send a strong signal that Americans are “unequivocally” with Ukraine. Tracy was later confirmed by a vote of 93-2.
Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said Zelenskyy is coming not only as president but as an “ambassador of freedom itself.”
The top Republican in the Senate, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said “the most basic reasons for continuing to help Ukraine degrade and defeat the Russian invaders are cold, hard, practical American interests.” He said that “defeating Russia’s aggression will help prevent further security crises in Europe.”
The invasion of Russia, which began on February 24, has lost momentum. The illegally annexed provinces of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia remain fiercely contested.
With fighting in the east at a standstill, Moscow has used missiles and drones to attack power equipment in Ukraine, hoping to knock people out as freezing weather sets in.
In a video released by his office of the visit to Bakhmut, Zelenskyy was handed a signed Ukrainian flag and hinted at giving it to US leaders. “We are grateful for their support, but it is not enough,” he said. “It’s a clue, it’s not enough.”
Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Kyiv-based Penta Center think tank, said that Zelenskyy’s visit to the US “should determine the course of the war: Zelenskyy for the first time dared to leave Ukraine and counts on being able to keep, and possibly even. strengthen, US military and economic assistance.”
Hanna Danylovych, 43, who lives in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and works as a scientist, welcomed the prospect of additional military supplies, saying “there is a great desire and dream to accelerate the removal of evil Russian of our land”.
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