Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Ukraine's Zelenskyy Preparing to Visit DC on Wednesday
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 1 year ago on
December 20, 2022

Share

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is preparing to visit Washington on Wednesday, according to three AP sources, in his first known trip outside the country since Russia’s invasion began in February.

Two congressional sources and one person familiar with the matter confirmed plans for the visit. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the highly sensitive nature of the trip. They said Zelenskyy’s visit, while expected, could still be called off at the last minute due to security concerns.

The visit to Washington is set to include an address to Congress on Capitol Hill and a meeting with President Joe Biden. It comes as lawmakers are set to vote on a year-end spending package that includes about $45 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and as the U.S. prepares to send Patriot surface-to-air missiles to the country to help stave off Russia’s invasion.

The latest tranche of U.S. funding would be the biggest American infusion of assistance yet to Ukraine, above even Biden’s $37 billion emergency request, and would ensure that funding flows to the war effort for months to come.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi encouraged lawmakers to be on hand for Wednesday evening’s session.

“We are ending a very special session of the 117th Congress with legislation that makes progress for the American people as well as support for our Democracy,” Pelosi wrote Tuesday in a letter to colleagues. “Please be present for a very special focus on Democracy Wednesday night.”

Zelenskyy has — almost daily — addressed various parliaments and international organizations by video and he has sent his wife to foreign capitals to drum up assistance. The visit comes a day after he made a daring and dangerous trip to what he called the hottest spot on the 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) front line, the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s contested Donetsk province.

In a video released by his office from the Bakhmut visit, Zelenskyy was handed a Ukrainian flag and alluded to delivering it to U.S. leaders.

“The guys handed over our beautiful Ukrainian flag with their signatures for us to pass on,” Zelenskyy said in the video. “We are not in an easy situation. The enemy is increasing its army. Our people are braver and need more powerful weapons. We will pass it on from the boys to the Congress, to the president of the United States. We are grateful for their support, but it is not enough. It is a hint — it is not enough.”

The U.S. has committed almost $20 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24, according to figures from the Pentagon. The U.S. is also providing intelligence to Ukrainian forces and helping Ukraine fend off Russian cyberattacks and efforts at sabotage, American and Ukrainian officials have said.

The visit comes at an important moment for Biden and Zelenskyy as the White House braces for greater resistance from a Republican-controlled House that’s signaled it will put more scrutiny on aid for Ukraine in the new Congress. GOP leader Kevin McCarthy has said his party’s lawmakers will not write a “blank check” for Ukraine.

Biden and Zelenskyy frequently have held phone calls in coordination with the White House announcing new tranches of military assistance for Ukraine. The calls have been mostly warm, with Biden praising Ukraine for remaining steadfast against the Russians and Zelenskyy thanking the U.S. president for support.

The one exception was a June phone call soon after Biden notified Zelenskyy another $1 billion package was headed to Ukraine. Zelenskyy didn’t miss a beat in listing additional assistance he said Ukraine needed. That irked Biden, who underscored to Zelenskyy the American people’s generosity.

The brief moment of tension hasn’t caused any lasting difficulty, according to officials familiar with the episode.

Earlier this month, several Ukraine officials — including Foreign Relations Committee Deputy Chairwoman Maria Mezentseva and parliamentarians Olena Khomenko and Lesia Zaburanna — traveled to Washington to meet with U.S. lawmakers to thank them for American assistance and underscore the need to keep the money flowing.

Zelenskyy addressed Congress by video link in March. Wearing a green T-shirt with the Ukrainian flag behind him, Zelenskyy argued that the U.S. and Ukraine shared common dreams and goals.

“Democracy, independence, freedom and care for everyone, for every person, for everyone who works diligently, who lives honestly, who respects the law,” he said then. “We in Ukraine want the same for our people. All that is normal part of your own life.”

His visit comes in the final days of Pelosi’s House speakership. Republicans will take control of the House in January, while Democrats retain power in the Senate. While Republicans set to chair key national-security committees push for continued support of Ukraine, there are growing concerns among the GOP rank-and-file about the cost and duration of the effort.

News of Zelenskyy’s visit was first reported by Punchbowl News.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Digging Into Fresno’s Trash Hauling Fees

DON'T MISS

Fresno State Announces 2024 Undergraduate Deans’ Medalists

DON'T MISS

Duane Eddy, Twangy Guitar Hero of Early Rock, Dead at Age 86

DON'T MISS

Fresno State’s Randa Jarrar Dragged Out of Event Featuring Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik

DON'T MISS

Trump Calls Judge ‘Crooked’ After Facing a Warning of Jail Time if He Violates a Trial Gag Order

DON'T MISS

Federal Reserve Says Interest Rates Will Stay at Two-Decade High Until Inflation Further Cools

DON'T MISS

House Passes Bill Expanding Antisemitism Definition Amid Campus Protests Over Gaza War

DON'T MISS

Trump Awarded 36 Million More Trump Media Shares Worth $1.8 Billion

DON'T MISS

Fresno Trustees Discuss Interim Superintendent Decision. When Will They Decide?

DON'T MISS

Why Wheels on $10M Worth of Fresno Buses Don’t Go Round and Round

UP NEXT

Protesters Urge Olympic Officials to Limit Israel’s Paris Games Role

UP NEXT

The Latest | In Israel, Blinken Pushes Hamas to Agree on Gaza Cease-Fire Deal

UP NEXT

Here’s Why There’s Global Alarm Over Israel’s Rafah Offensive

UP NEXT

US Is Building a Pier off Gaza to Bring in Humanitarian Aid. Here’s How It Would Work.

UP NEXT

Netanyahu Promises to Enter Rafah Regardless of a Deal, Amid Ongoing Negotiations With Hamas

UP NEXT

Oklahoma Towns Hard Hit by Tornadoes Begin Long Cleanup After 4 Killed in Weekend Storms

UP NEXT

Blinken Says Israel Must Still Do More to Boost Humanitarian Aid to Gaza

UP NEXT

US Announces New Patriot Missiles for Ukraine as Part of New $6 Billion Aid Package

UP NEXT

The Protests Over the Israel-Hamas War Put a Spotlight on College Endowments

UP NEXT

Egypt Sends Delegation to Israel, Its Latest Effort to Broker a Cease-Fire Between Israel and Hamas

Fresno State’s Randa Jarrar Dragged Out of Event Featuring Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik

2 hours ago

Trump Calls Judge ‘Crooked’ After Facing a Warning of Jail Time if He Violates a Trial Gag Order

2 hours ago

Federal Reserve Says Interest Rates Will Stay at Two-Decade High Until Inflation Further Cools

2 hours ago

House Passes Bill Expanding Antisemitism Definition Amid Campus Protests Over Gaza War

2 hours ago

Trump Awarded 36 Million More Trump Media Shares Worth $1.8 Billion

3 hours ago

Fresno Trustees Discuss Interim Superintendent Decision. When Will They Decide?

Local Education /

4 hours ago

Why Wheels on $10M Worth of Fresno Buses Don’t Go Round and Round

4 hours ago

Enough With the Excuses. Are You Part of the Problem With Fresno’s Public Education?

4 hours ago

New Battlegrounds Emerge in California’s Political Guerrilla War Over Housing

5 hours ago

Red Sox Notch Another Shutout in Fenway Win Over Giants

6 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Digging Into Fresno’s Trash Hauling Fees

GV Wire senior reporter David Taub talks with KMPH Fox 26 “Great Day” anchor Jim De La Vega about $3 million in trash hauling overpayments m...

1 hour ago

1 hour ago

Wired Wednesday: Digging Into Fresno’s Trash Hauling Fees

1 hour ago

Fresno State Announces 2024 Undergraduate Deans’ Medalists

2 hours ago

Duane Eddy, Twangy Guitar Hero of Early Rock, Dead at Age 86

2 hours ago

Fresno State’s Randa Jarrar Dragged Out of Event Featuring Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik

2 hours ago

Trump Calls Judge ‘Crooked’ After Facing a Warning of Jail Time if He Violates a Trial Gag Order

2 hours ago

Federal Reserve Says Interest Rates Will Stay at Two-Decade High Until Inflation Further Cools

2 hours ago

House Passes Bill Expanding Antisemitism Definition Amid Campus Protests Over Gaza War

3 hours ago

Trump Awarded 36 Million More Trump Media Shares Worth $1.8 Billion

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend