The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky returned to Ukraine from a trip to the United States.
Before returning, he met his Polish colleague Andrzej Duda at Rzeszow airport in western Poland, returning from his trip from the United States. Zelensky himself made it known on his social channels, posting a video of the two presidents’ embrace.
Zelensky returns from a trip to the United States, where he spoke to Congress. Faced with Russian “primitive tactics” and “against all odds, Ukraine has not fallen but lives and fights”: “we will never surrender”. And this also thanks to the “essential” support of the United States: “I want to thank the Americans” and tell them that the aid granted to Kiev “is not charity but an investment in global security and democracy”, he said, welcomed with a standing ovation and a shower of applause. “It’s too much for me,” he says, thanking Republican and Democratic senators, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris. “The coming year will be critical,” Zelensky admits to Congress.
“You can speed up our victory,” he adds, indirectly referring to the aid that is being evaluated and which is met with skepticism from some Republicans. The Ukrainian president speaks of Russia as a “terrorist state” which must be held responsible for the war: Moscow could stop the aggression “if it wanted to”. Then he also sends a message to the Russians that, in his opinion, they will be free “only when they defeat the Kremlin in their minds. Russian tyranny has lost control over us. The fight continues and we must defeat the Kremlin on the battlefield”. he says interrupted several times by the applause. “We have artillery, thank you. Is that enough? Honestly not,” he adds between laughs. Zelensky then cites World War II, the Ardennes offensive and Franklyn Delano Roosevelt to explain his people’s resilience and thank Americans.
“Ukraine’s victory will also be America’s victory”, he observes, mentioning his proposal for a peace formula already presented at the G20. “In a few days it’s Christmas. In Ukraine we will also celebrate it by candlelight, and not for romanticism. We don’t have electricity and many don’t have water. But we’re not complaining. The light of our faith will illuminate Christmas”. observes Zelensky, reiterating that what millions of Ukrainians are hoping for right now is “victory, only victory”. The president then wishes everyone “Merry Christmas and a happy victorious New Year”, before presenting the Congress with a Ukrainian flag that he was waving in Bakhumt signed by the forces of Kiev. Before his historic congressional address, Zelensky met with Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. Schumer himself reported that according to the Ukrainian leader, failure to approve the aid that Congress is considering could cost lives. Democrats are united in wanting to support Kiev, while among the Republican ranks there are objections. A skepticism that has countered Zelensky’s call for more aid to fight Russia on the front lines. After his visit to Washington, it is not excluded that the Ukrainian president could also visit the United Kingdom and, perhaps, France and Germany in the near future, according to CBS reports.
From the meeting between Biden and Zelensky, “the message sent, also to Russia, is absolutely clear. The West will not leave Ukraine alone. The goal is peace, but do not think of wearing the West down, because it will wear down and support Ukraine until peace arrives”, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Sky Tg24 in the morning. “Europe is part of the West and is doing all it has to, including preparing reconstruction”, underlined the minister, adding that “our companies too will be preparing to participate” in this phase after the war.
THE MEETING AT THE WHITE HOUSE
“We have reached the 300th day of a brutal and unjustified attack that Russia has launched against Ukraine,” said Joe Biden at a White House press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “You will never be alone”, assured the American president. “Ukraine’s struggle is part of something bigger. Americans are standing up to bullies and fighting for freedom,” Biden stressed. “I have never seen NATO and the EU more united than this”, explained Biden, underlining that there is no yielding in “support and solidarity” for Ukraine. “We all know what’s at stake here, it’s been since World War II that a European country hasn’t been attacked,” he added.
The Patriots “will significantly strengthen our air defense,” Zelensky said, thanking “Congress for bipartisan support.” “Patriot systems will be a critical asset for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression.” Biden said so. “Sending Patriot is not an escalation, it’s defensive systems,” she added. “It is difficult to say what a just peace is. For me as president, a just peace is no compromise on my country’s sovereignty, liberty and territorial integrity.” Putin could go beyond Ukraine and potentially invade former Soviet states, according to Zelensky.
Volodymyr Zelensky arrives in Washington like Winston Churchill 81 years ago just days after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour. The first visit of the Ukrainian president abroad in almost a year of war marks the beginning of a new phase of the conflict against Russia and consolidates the alliance with the United States with Joe Biden announcing a new arms package for almost two billions of dollars, including the Patriots, and ensures support for Kiev for as long as necessary, while the Kremlin reacts angrily warning that there will be no progress on peace talks. “The US wants a just peace for Ukraine,” Biden said in the first minutes of his meeting with Zelensky after welcoming him with an affectionate hug, accompanied by his wife Jill upon his arrival at the White House. The two leaders had last met in the Oval Office in September 2021, when the invasion of Russia was only a threat. That time Zelensky wore a blue suit and a tie of the same color, relaxed look and clean-shaven face.
Today his face is drawn and he is wearing the now iconic military uniform. An historic visit, agreed during a phone call between the two leaders last December 11, confirmed only last Sunday and kept secret until Tuesday evening for obvious security reasons. A journey so delicate that the White House did not even broadcast Biden’s weekly program over the weekend, as is his habit, arousing some suspicion in journalists used to knowing every movement of the American president in detail. However, no one expected Zelensky’s arrival in the American capital. Already in their last meeting more than a year ago, Biden had assured the Ukrainian president of support in defending the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and, three hundred days of war later, the commitment of the administration Use remains unchanged. “We will continue to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend itself especially with regard to anti-aircraft systems”, Biden underlined to the Ukrainian leader whom he honored by calling him “the man of the year in the USA”. However, the aid will not include the coveted Atacms, the long-range super rockets capable of striking up to 300 kilometers, therefore potentially also in Russian territory, but advanced systems capable of curbing Moscow’s constant attacks on the strategic infrastructures of the Village. Even during the hours when Zelensky was in Washington, air raid sirens continued to sound throughout the country. The Ukrainian president, who clarified that “the war is not over”, thanked Biden for the help “from the bottom of his heart”.
“I am here to continue cooperation to bring our victory closer. Next year we will have to return the Ukrainian flag and freedom to our people”, pledged the Ukrainian leader. US assistance is not limited to weapons. The $1.7 trillion federal budget to be approved by Congress by Friday also includes $45 billion in aid to Ukraine, exceeding Biden’s $37 billion request. So far, in military, economic and humanitarian aid, the US has already provided Kiev with around 68 billion dollars in funding. And it is no coincidence that the US president receives Zelensky at the end of the year, before the Republicans resume control of the House in January. The American president wants to ensure that Congress continues to support Ukraine in a bipartisan and compact way, cornering those in the Grand Old Party who have threatened not to write “blank checks” in Kiev anymore. Zelensky’s Capitol Hill appeal, nine months after his virtual one, must do just that, just as Churchill’s in 1941 cemented the alliance that would win World War II and build the modern democratic world.
