US President Joe Biden has pledged $1.85 billion in military aid to Ukraine
Russia has sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington and accused the United States of waging an indirect war against it.
US President Joe Biden has pledged $1.85 billion in military aid to Ukraine, including an advanced missile system, to help protect Kiev from Russian attacks.
Zelensky welcomed US help in a speech challenging US lawmakers.
However, the Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, said these “provocative actions” would lead to an escalation that would have serious consequences.
He told Russian state media that Moscow was “facing common sense at all levels” but that the talk of delivering the Patriot missile system to Kiev was “very disturbing”.
The Patriots are capable, effective and costly, and the White House said they would help defend Ukrainians against Russia’s “barbaric attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.”
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Russian President Vladimir Putin
Moscow has criticized the failure to heed any calls for peace during Zelensky’s trip to Washington, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov describing it as evidence that the United States is fighting a proxy war against Russia.
Peskov added that the delivery of the Patriot missiles would not prevent Russia from “reaching its objectives during the special military operation”.
Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said: “The talks in Washington showed that neither Ukraine nor the United States seeks peace, they are simply determined to keep fighting.”
Russian commentators have echoed the same remarks, repeatedly accusing the United States of “stuffing Ukraine with weapons”.
Some Russian media reports ridiculed the Ukrainian leader, and state television’s Channel One likened him to a stripper begging for money, as well as likening him to a toilet brush.
Zelensky told Congress on his first trip abroad since the start of the Russian invasion that his country was “alive and active” and would never surrender to Moscow.
In addition to the already announced $1.85 billion relief package, $45 billion in emergency relief is currently under consideration in the Senate.
Zelensky expressed his hope that this additional funding will be approved “to help us defend our values and our independence”.
However, there are signs that US support is likely to come under more political scrutiny, as Republican support for continued aid has begun to wane.
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Zelensky’s visit to Washington is his first trip abroad since the start of the Russian invasion
An opinion poll in November showed just over half of Republican voters supporting Ukraine, down from 80% in March.
The party, which will take control of the lower house of parliament in January, has warned it will not write a “blind cheque” to Ukraine.
However, Biden has promised to stand by Ukraine “for as long as necessary”.
Zelensky, who flew on a US Air Force plane from the Polish city of Rzeszow, said “regardless of changes in Congress,” he believes there will be bipartisan support for his country.
He made the roll call in poignant terms before a joint session of Congress, in a speech that stopped 18 times to standing ovations from nearly every member of Congress, save for a few Republicans who didn’t applaud.
Speaking in English, he said his country has been resilient “against all odds” and predicted a “turnaround” in the conflict over the next year.
To illustrate the brutality of the war, Zelensky recalled American forces fighting the Nazis during World War II.
He said: “The tactic of the Russians is primitive. They burn and destroy everything they see. They send prisoners to the front line, to war. They throw everything at us, like another tyranny throwing everything into the battle of the breach in front of the free world.” “.
He added: “Just like the brave American soldiers who stood and resisted Hitler’s forces during Christmas 1944, the brave Ukrainian soldiers are doing the same to Putin’s forces this Christmas. Ukraine is sticking to his lines and will never give up.”
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At the conclusion of his speech, Zelensky presented Congress with a battle flag signed by the defenders of Bakhmut, a frontline city in eastern Ukraine that he had visited on the eve of his trip to Washington.
Biden said during a joint press conference that he was “not at all worried” about the cohesion of the international coalition.
Despite concerns that some allies could feel the pressure from the cost of the conflict and the disruption of global food and energy supplies, the US president said he had a “good feeling” about solidarity in support of Ukraine.
As Ukraine’s most important ally, the United States has already committed $50 billion in humanitarian, financial and security assistance, far more than any other country.
On his way back from Washington, Zelensky stopped in Poland and met with Polish President Andrzej Duda, one of his staunchest allies.
Zelensky said they discussed the visit to the United States and their “strategic plans for the future”.
The US military estimates that about 100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded, as well as about 40,000 civilians, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
The United Nations has also registered 7.8 million refugees from Ukraine across Europe, including Russia. However, the figure does not include those who had to flee their homes and stay in Ukraine.
