Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House with his wife Olena for a summit with US President Joe Biden. who reiterated his support for the leader of Ukraine.
“I will ensure that the world remains next to Kiev“Biden said to Zelensky in the Oval Office, according to journalists present.
“Abrams tanks will arrive in Ukraine next week“, Biden announced to Zelenskyy at the second meeting in the White House, which was also extended to the staff of the two heads of state and government. “We are at your side and we will remain at your side,” the American president added.There is no alternative to Congress voting to send aid to Ukraine“, he then emphasized.
Zelensky, for his part, thanked Biden and the United States for their support in the fight against “Russian terror.”. “I would like to thank the Polish people and society for their support. That’s all,” Zelenskyy replied to a question from journalists in the Oval Office about the Polish Prime Minister’s announcement, which was partially denied by President Duda, that he would no longer support Warsaw and give arms to Kiev.
However, the “Stars and Stripes” day was not easy for the Ukrainian president: Zelensky suffered a beating in Washington, where Republicans in the House of Representatives, despite Joe Biden’s unconditional support and the announcement of a new arms package in Kiev, built a wall against indefinite support for Ukraine erected , which froze the expectations of the Ukrainian leader and the wishes of the Commander-in-Chief.
“If we don’t get help, we will lose the war,” was Zelensky’s urgent appeal to the 70 or so senators he met with Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The Ukrainian president, in military uniform but wearing a shirt, thanked “the senators and deputies for their support” but avoided answering journalists’ questions. “We’ll keep the details of our conversations to ourselves,” he explained dryly, without hiding a certain disappointment. The balance in the US Congress has changed compared to nine months ago and, particularly in the House of Representatives, the front of aid skeptics is becoming increasingly broad. Republican spokesman Kevin McCarthy was responsible for freezing Zelensky’s expectations and Biden’s demands by ruling out approval of the $24 billion aid package by year’s end, or at least not formally committing to it. as requested by the President. “We are struggling with our own financial problems. There are 10,000 people who just crossed the border and the president is only thinking about Ukraine,” McCarthy attacked. As for the funds in Kiev, the speaker is increasingly becoming hostage to the handful of Trump lawmakers, and not only that, and on the very day of Zelensky’s visit he suffered another defeat when a handful of Republicans defeated a procedural vote for the second time this week advance the defense spending bill. Another step towards the shutdown that Donald Trump called on his men to implement in order to destroy “the corrupt Biden” and deprive him of funds “for the trials against me”.
McCarthy also avoided being photographed with the Kiev leader and refused to allow him to attend a joint session of Congress, saying there was no time. In short, a completely different reception than in December a year ago, when the Ukrainian leader was greeted as a hero. As if that weren’t enough, 23 Republican representatives and six senators wrote a letter to Biden criticizing the White House’s war strategy as “unclear.” and complained about the indefinite ties to Kiev. After Capitol Hill, Zelensky went to the Pentagon, where he spoke with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, with whom he laid a wreath at the September 11 memorial and took stock of the state of the counteroffensive.
The Ukrainian president’s intensive day in the American capital ended at the White House with the meeting with Biden, the sixth face-to-face meeting between the two. In the Oval Office, the commander-in-chief announced his intention to send the new weapons package, subject of course to congressional approval, which today seemed a long way off. While he reiterated his support for Kiev “for as long as necessary,” Biden once again disappointed Zelensky by not including the coveted Atacms, the long-range missiles that the Ukrainian army would need to repel attacks, in the list of new weapons. Russians. The announced package includes “significant air defense systems,” but for the umpteenth time it does not include the Army’s tactical missile systems. “
“No decisions have been made yet, but they are not ruled out,” assured John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council. Officially, the Pentagon says that the United States does not have enough to share with its allies and, moreover, would not make a difference for the Ukrainians at this moment of war. In fact, Washington’s real fear is that these missiles could be used to attack Russian territory with unimaginable consequences for Ukraine and the world.
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