The Ukrainian president’s flash visit, his first out of the country since the start of the conflict, comes as North American members of Congress prepare to vote on a spending package worth about 45 billion dollars (about 42 thousand euros). ) emergency aid to Ukraine. If passed, the measure would be the largest U.S. support for Ukraine and a guarantee that funding for the war effort could come in the coming months. However, even before Zelensky arrived on American soil, the United States announced $1,850 million (€1,750 million) in military aid to Ukraine, including a battery of Patriot missiles.
“I’m honored to welcome you to the White House, Mr. President,” greeted Biden at a press conference after the meeting between the two leaders. “We have been in long distance communication for hours and now we are finally meeting face to face. It is an honor to have you here”, the US President reinforced.
“President Putin’s attacks are brutal, targeting schools and hospitals. We should be together until 2023,” Biden said. “It’s 300 days for the Ukrainian people to show Russia and the world the determination to choose their next path. You will not be alone. Ukraine’s independence will be supported by all of us,” pledged the US president, who today defended Zelensky’s commitment to a “just peace” for the country.
Biden thinks so He argued that “Russia is using winter as a weapon” and that “Ukraine’s struggle represents democracy, and if the world does not support it, it will suffer the consequences.”
“From the beginning, the United States and its allies have stood by Ukraine in adopting economic sanctions against Russia,” he said. “Together we have provided thousands of dollars in humanitarian support to help the people of Ukraine in their brutal war against Putin. The United States is proud to host thousands of Ukrainian citizens fleeing war. We are providing food and health care, and we are going to help 2.5 million Ukrainians stay warm during the winter.”
Biden also highlighted Ukraine’s backlash, which “won the battle of Kherson and Kharkiv”, and assured that “Putin is not interested in ending this conflict”.
Thus, and in response to the pledge, the North American president noted the support package announced today, and in anticipation of Zelensky’s visit, “Includes ammunition, artillery, tanks and displacement rockets”, “Patriot Missile Battery and Training for the Ukrainian Army” addition.
The Patriot defense system is “one of the best defense systems in the world,” Biden told a news conference, with the ability to defeat short-range ballistic and cruise missiles and aircraft.
nearby, “The United States will provide equipment to ensure the stability of Ukraine’s electricity system to keep the population warm,” the US president promised, reinforcing a direct assurance to his counterpart Zelensky that “the United States will be with you.”
The US president expressed confidence in the approval of a new spending package that includes around US$45 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine. The same Congress has authorized a total of $65 billion in support since the war began.
Zelensky, who began by saying, “Thank you to the American people for doing so much for Ukraine,” called it a “historic” visit. “We are starting a new phase of our partnership. This is what I have felt in our conversations and meetings. I am very grateful to the efforts of President Biden and to all the countries of the world for taking a stand in favor of Ukraine,” Zelensky said, speaking in Ukrainian.
“I have good news to tell you when I get back home,” he said, “referring to the US aid package. [agora anunciado] And, best of all, there is the possibility of protecting our skies with Patriot missiles.
“The strongest element of this package is the Patriot battery systems, which will significantly strengthen our air defense,” the Ukrainian president admitted. “This is a very important step towards creating a safe airspace for Ukraine,” Zelensky concluded.
Manufactured by Raytheon, the MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system that was initially developed to intercept high-flying aircraft. It was modified in the 1980s to focus on the new threat of tactical ballistic missiles and demonstrated its effectiveness against the Russian-made Scuds used by Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in the First Gulf War, the first to use such a system in combat.
During the conflict, Ukraine’s air defense played a key role in defending the country against Russian attacks, as well as preventing Moscow forces from gaining control of the skies.
Zelensky also did not hide that seeing the approval of the Congress in the next few hours, the support package at 45 billion dollars, which would represent a significant victory for Kiev and a guarantee of maintenance. War efforts.
In the talks between the Presidents of the two countries, Zelensky told Biden what he expected for 2023, and told the U.S. representative that Russia’s damage to the Ukrainian power grid this winter “puts the survival of the Ukrainian people at risk.”
As the conflict progressed and Russia faced increasing setbacks on the ground, Putin began a systematic attack on critical infrastructure in Ukraine, causing power and water cuts, affecting millions of people.
Asked what it meant to achieve a “just peace,” Zelensky promised that it would not pass.Any concessions to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of my country”.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, will arrive at the White House in Washington today at 14:00 (19:00 in Lisbon) to meet with his North American counterpart, Joe Biden.
At the entrance to the White House, Zelensky was greeted with honors by US President and First Lady Jill Biden, and the president took a formal photo with the couple.
The plane carrying the President of Ukraine to the United States landed at the airport near the American capital Washington today.
Zelensky is visiting the United States with the aim of building more support for Ukraine and “sending a negative message to the Russian aggressors,” a senior Biden administration official said.
On his personal account on the social network Twitter, the Ukrainian president said before leaving for Washington, his first known trip outside Ukraine since the start of the war in February, that it was “destined to strengthen resistance and security capabilities”. “To discuss cooperation with Kiev and the US.
*With AFP and Lusa
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