He told the LETA agency that the visit of the President of Ukraine to the United States is historically significant. He demonstrates that the United States considers Ukraine as defensible as NATO territory would be. The political scientist noted that with this visit Ukraine becomes an important member of the global strategy, while Zelensky is seen as a world-class politician.
Asked whether the visit of the president of Ukraine could accelerate and even increase the support given to him, Dauchts said that US President Joe Biden used Zelensky’s visit as domestic political leverage against the US Congress. The political scientist explained that this is an important step, because in January the balance of power in the United States Congress will change and the supply of military aid could become more complicated.
“Zelensky’s emotional and thoughtful speech undoubtedly contributed to the support of the US administration and Congress for Ukraine’s efforts to regain its sovereignty and borders. I think Congress will not put obstacles in the way of supplying arms to ‘Ukraine, ”said the political scientist.
Asked whether this visit could contribute to Ukraine’s admission to NATO in the future, even taking into account that there are several risks associated with the country’s admission to the alliance, Daukšts stressed that the risks are clearly visible. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Minsk, where it was proposed to deploy nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus.
“Increasingly frequent sightings of nuclear weapons near the borders of Latvia, Poland and Lithuania and rhetoric about the possible use of nuclear weapons have become a ‘fashion thing’. Therefore, NATO is currently trying to consider the territory of Ukraine as a militarily strategically important element in its global positions,” said the political scientist.
Dauchs also pointed out that the President of Ukraine is often accused of asking for weapons, but now Zelenskiy is starting to be compared with former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who came to the United States in December 1941 and addressed the US Congress in connection with the Second World War.
The political scientist pointed out that Churchill had a request consisting of three words: weapons, weapons and weapons. Therefore, according to Daukshta, comparing Zelensky with an arms beggar is neither justified nor adequate, since Zelensky is his country’s defender in the diplomatic field.
LETA has previously written that Zelenskiy addressed the US Congress during his visit to Washington on Wednesday, directly asking for long-term US support for Ukraine and stating that this aid is not a charity, but “a investment in global security and democracy”.
Zelensky thanked “every American family” for US aid to Ukraine in a speech aimed at countering growing skepticism about US military aid as the war in Ukraine drags on and will continue into the next year.
Some 300 days after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in hopes of a quick conquest, Zelensky has traveled to Washington to receive a hero’s welcome. This is Zelensky’s first foreign trip since the start of the full-scale invasion of Russia on February 24.
Zelensky thanked the United States for aiding Ukraine and said the new year would mark a “turning point” in the fight against Russia.
“Against all the darkest circumstances and scenarios, Ukraine is safe and sound,” Zelensky said in a speech that drew a standing ovation. “Your money is not charity. It is an investment in global security and democracy that we manage in the most responsible way.”
Zelensky called on US congressmen to do more for Ukraine during the difficult winter months by providing it with more weapons and financial aid. “We have artillery. Thank you. Is that enough? To be honest, not quite,” Zelensky said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi compared Zelensky’s speech to Churchill’s visit to the United States just days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and Zelensky wasn’t afraid to draw parallels either.
Comparing Ukrainian forces to American soldiers on the fronts of World War II, Zelensky said Russian troops “burn and destroy everything,” “to another [Hitlera] “Ukraine holds its lines and will never surrender,” Zelenskyi said to applause.
Ukraine enjoys strong US support, but several Republican congressmen are critical, seeing US support for Ukraine as a waste of taxpayers’ money.
In his speech, Zelenskiy thanked both Democratic and Republican politicians, but the purpose of the speech was also to endure war fatigue, especially among Republicans.
In his speech, Zelenskiy said that cooperation between Russia and Iran threatens not only Ukraine, but also all US allies. Almost all US Republican politicians are anti-Iran.
“If Russia does not reach our cities with artillery, it tries to destroy them with missiles. Even missiles are missing: Russia has found an accomplice in the policy of genocide, and it is Iran. Iranian killer drones, delivered to hundreds to Russia, have become a threat to our critical infrastructure. This is how one terrorist finds another to wage war against the free world,” Zelenskiy said.
He believed it was only a matter of time before Russia would strike at other US allies “if we don’t stop it now.”
Zelensky arrived in the United States soon after a risky visit to the front lines in the town of Bakhmut, where heavy fighting has taken place between Ukrainian and Russian forces for the past two months, with heavy casualties on both sides.
