“Message to Putin and the world” – Corriere.it

FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT IN NEW YORK — Volodymir Zelensky expected at White Housewhere today, Wednesday December 21, I will meet Joe Biden for the first time face to face since the beginning of the war. Then, in the evening, he is expected to speak before Congress meeting in joint session. This was communicated by anonymous sources of Congress and the government and confirmation from the White House arrived at dawn on Wednesday. The visit, a senior Biden administration official said in a briefing with a small group of journalists, is a message to Putin and to the world. Then he added that the US president’s intention was not to push Ukraine to an agreement: His principle: nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.

Ukrainian leader tweeted: I’m on my way to US to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience and defense capabilities. In particular, the President of the United States and I will discuss cooperation between Ukraine and the United States. He will also hold a speech to Congress and a series of bilateral meetings.

the first time that the Ukrainian president has left his country since February 24th. Several sources have referred to the American site Axios on the night the Capitol Police were reinforcing the security measures for the visit. Axios reported some passages of a letter sent to deputies by the president of the Chamber, Nancy Pelosiin which all members were asked to be physically present at our Wednesday evening session on Tuesday morning, for a focal point very special about democracy. In fact, the fear was that they would leave for the end of year holidays.

The Ukrainian president is expected thank Congress for aid allocated so far to the war in Ukraine and explaining the need for additional military support. Beyond the clamor for the symbolic journey of the Kiev leader outside the borders of his country after 300 days of conflict and for his image impactthere will be very concrete topics on the table for discussion. Biden and Zelensky will talk about the new package during their face-to-face meeting military aid to Kiev which also includes Patriot missiles. This was reported by sources informed of the visit to Cnn.

His wants to be an appeal to the new Congress which takes office on January 3 with a slight Republican majority in the House, including several deputies from the Freedom Caucus Of far-right openly skeptical of the ongoing expenses for war. The trip also a message to Putin: the United States and theUkraine they will stay united until the end of the conflict. Biden to announce $1.8 billion in new assistance for the security of Ukraine, CNN anticipated, which add up to the 20 billion provided so far, while Congress is preparing to approve a budget which provides for other Kiev 45 billion dollarsmore than requested by the president himself (they include 20 billion in military aid and funds to restore the Pentagon’s arsenal, depleted by the shipment of arms to Kiev; 6.2 billion to strengthen the US presence on NATO’s eastern flank; other funds to support theeconomy and refugees).

The US president was against supply the Patriots at first, but became convinced after the constant bombing of Ukrainian infrastructure and also because of the possibility that Russia would enrich its arsenal with Iranian ballistic missiles; in the new military aid package there should also be kits that allow you to make smart bombs different scope already in the possession of Kiev, through gps systems to guide and strike with precision (Washington underlines that there is no risk
the escalation because they are relatively short range). The opportunity for a visit quickly defined itself over the past few days. Zelensky will also meet some officials of the National Security Council of the White House.

The spokeswoman for the Ukrainian president, Iuliia Mendel, posted the photo of the girl on Twitter Ukrainian flag delivered to Zelensky by soldiers to Bakhmut. They asked him to show it to the American Congress. He promised to deliver it to the president of the United States. Several times Biden and Zelensky spoke by phone in these ten months of war: they often praised each other, but there were also moments of voltagelike when the Ukrainian president accused the Western allies of not doing enough, despite the aid that has come from Washington. When Zelensky spoke to Congress remotely last March, evoked i darkest days of American history, including Pearl Harbor and on September 11th
. We’ll see what he says now Ukraine in the dark while Americans celebrate Hannukah and Christmas.

This is the flag given to Zelenskyj by Ukrainian soldiers to Bakhmut. They asked him to pass this flag to the American Congress. He promised to pass it on to @POTUS . pic.twitter.com/vHAQuqbYQS

— Iuliia Mendel (@IuliiaMendel) December 20, 2022