WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President Joe Biden on the White House Wednesday ahead of a scheduled address to a joint session of Congress later within the evening. The trip was Zelenskyy’s first known wartime trip outside Ukraine for the reason that start of Russia’s invasion last February.
Zelenskyy arrived on the White House shortly after 2 p.m. for a bilateral meeting with Biden, who was joined by Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“It’s an honor to be by your side, united in defense in what’s a brutal, brutal war,” Biden said to Zelenskyy within the Oval Office, ahead of the bilateral meeting.
“The Ukrainian people proceed to encourage the world, and I mean that sincerely,” said Biden. “Not only encourage us, but encourage the world with their courage and the way they’ve chosen resilience and resolve for his or her future.”
The 2 leaders plan to carry a joint press conference after the meeting wraps up, currently scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET.
Zelenskyy’s visit got here because the U.S. Senate prepared to vote on an omnibus spending bill that features roughly $45 billion of each military and economic aid to Ukraine in the approaching 12 months, billions greater than Biden initially requested in November.
Along with the cash within the omnibus bill, the Biden administration announced a package of nearly $2 billion in security assistance during Zelenskyy’s visit.
“We will proceed to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend itself, particularly air defense,” Biden said at first of the 2 leaders’ meeting. “That is why we’ll be providing Ukraine with a Patriot missile battery, and training your forces to give you the chance to accurately use it.”
Until now, america has resisted sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, partly over concerns that Ukrainian troops would struggle to properly use the complex, multi-part weapon, which requires dozens of soldiers to operate it.
Like Wednesday’s aid package, the help being considered by Congress is primarily military, with greater than $20 billion to produce weapons and equipment to Ukraine’s armed forces, who’re waging a bitter fight in freezing temperatures to recapture territories occupied by Russian troops.
This figure also includes funding to replenish U.S. Defense Department stockpiles which have been depleted after nearly a 12 months of providing materiel to Ukraine.
One other $6.2 billion is earmarked for the 1000’s of American troops that Biden ordered to deploy to Eastern Europe shortly after Russia’s invasion. They’re largely stationed in Romania and Poland.
A employee installs Ukrainian and U.S. flags near the U.S. Capitol ahead of a visit by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks with U.S. President Joe Biden and an address to a joint meeting of Congress in Washington, U.S., December 21, 2022.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
Meanwhile, Ukrainian civilians are under near constant bombardment by Russian missiles and drones, which have destroyed vast swaths of the country’s electrical grid and water infrastructure.
If the Senate approves the yearlong government funding bill, it will go to the House, where Democratic leadership desires to pass it and send it to Biden’s desk before they leave for the vacation recess on Thursday.
The Biden administration and Ukraine’s many supporters in Congress also hope that Zelenskyy’s visit will help firm up congressional support for the huge aid package.
After nearly a 12 months of war, some Republicans have begun to openly query whether the U.S. should keep funding the Ukrainian military.
