President Joe Biden on Wednesday welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskyy at the White House, greeting him before the two began a private meeting and before the Ukrainian leader was set to speak before a joint session of Congress in the evening.
When he landed outside Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, it marked his first known trip outside his country since Russia invaded in February.
“It’s an honor to be by your side,” Biden told Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, vowing that the U.S. will stand with “the great people of Ukraine” amid Russia’s “brutal assault” on its “right to exist as a nation.”
“You’ve been a great leader,” Biden added.
Zelenskyy first thanked Biden, U.S. leaders and “ordinary people” in the U.S. for their support, which he said made his visit Wednesday possible. He called it a “great honor” to be in Washington to discuss key topics and challenges, from energy to the battlefield.
“All my appreciation … from my heart and all of Ukraine,” he said, presenting Biden with a military medal on behalf of a Ukrainian army captain fighting in the critical Donbas region, whom Zelenskyy said he met with the day before.
Biden promised to gift him in exchange a challenge coin representing his late son, Beau, who served in Iraq.
The two heads of state are set to speak at a joint press conference late Wednesday afternoon. Later in the evening, Zelenskyy will address a joint session of Congress.
When he arrived, the Ukrainian flag flapped outside Blair House, the accomodations across from the White House often used for heads of state. Other flags lined Pennsylvania Avenue, which stretches from the White House to the U.S. Capitol.
AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin
Zelenskyy is expected to ask Biden and lawmakers for more sophisticated weapons.
“I will hold a series of negotiations to strengthen the resilience and defense capabilities of Ukraine,” he wrote in a Telegram post. “Next year, we must return the Ukrainian flag and freedom to our entire land, to all our people.”
President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Ahead of Zelenskyy’s visit, the U.S. announced a new $1.85 billion military aid package for Ukraine including a Patriot air defense battery, the first to go to Ukraine.
The missile system is intended to fight a single aircraft target with a single missile. The package also includes precision-guided bombs for fighter jets.
U.S. forces will train Ukrainian forces on how to operate the Patriot system in a third allied country, then take their knowledge back to Ukraine for operation, a senior administration official said. The U.S. will also continue to provide other forms of anti-air support, anti-armor weaponry, and counter-aerial surveillance equipment. But the U.S. will continue to keep its forces out of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy’s arrival in Washington coincided with the 300th day since Russia began its attack on Ukraine — a fight that has dragged out as Ukrainian forces have put up stronger-than-expected resistance against the Russians. Their stand has been bolstered by support from more than 50 countries, and the United States most significantly. Thus far, Congress has approved a total of $66 billion in aid supporting Ukraine, along with an additional commitment of $19.7 billion in security assistance, according to the Department of Defense.
The White House also anticipates the swift passage of about $45 billion in funding for Ukraine as part of a larger full-year government spending bill, which both chambers are expected to vote on by the end of this week.
“This will be a day to remember in the United States Congress,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Wednesday, a sentiment he shared with his GOP counterpart.
“I look forward to welcoming President Zelenskyy to the Capitol and to hearing from the Ukrainian people’s elected leader at a critical moment in their struggle about their safety and their sovereignty against Russia’s unhedged aggression,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel, R-Ky., said in remarks of his own on the Senate floor Wednesday.
“The people of Ukraine have reminded the entire free world about the meaning of sovereignty, and the price of freedom. They fought back against the invaders with inspiring bravery.”
McConnell added that the support to Ukraine has been bipartisan because it ultimately helps the U.S.: “America is directly demonstrating our commitment to the basic principles of territorial integrity and national sovereignty,” he said.
Biden on Wednesday will “reinforce the fundamental message” to Zelenskyy, to Ukraine and to Americans, that the U.S. “will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” the administration official said.
Whether or not Biden can fulfill that promise may be up in the air — the president will face the challenge of a Republican-controlled House, with GOP members who have shown resistance to continuing support for Ukraine. House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters in October that, should they win the majority, Republicans would not provide a “free blank check” to Ukraine.
But while Congress is still in Democrats’ hands, they presented a unified front in welcoming Zelenskyy.
“In the face of Putin’s horrific atrocities, Ukrainian freedom fighters have inspired the world with an iron will and an unbreakable spirit — fighting back against Russia’s brutal, unjustified invasion,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wrote in a letter to Zelenskyy inviting him to the capitol.
“During this dark moment, your courageous, patriotic, indefatigable leadership has rallied not only your people, but the world, to join the frontlines of the fight for freedom.”
For Pelosi, the moment is a personal one: Her father, Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr., was a Congressman from Maryland in 1941 when then-U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill addressed Congress just weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entered World War II.
“Eighty-one years later this week, it is particularly poignant for me to be present when another heroic leader addresses the Congress in a time of war – and with Democracy itself on the line,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to colleagues.
The White House formally invited Zelenskyy to Washington on Dec. 14, the official said. His trip is expected to be a one-day, whirlwind journey that will see him traveling to and from Washington within the same day, according to the official.
Zelenskyy is not taking the trip to Washington without some measure of risk, even with security parameters set up by the United States. But, the official said, Zelenskyy feels that the visit will ultimately aid Ukraine in its fight against Russia, and that the visit will project a “strong message of unity and resolve.”
