WASHINGTON (AP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the remembrance of Pearl Harbor and the September 11, 2001 attacks when he called on the US Congress on Wednesday to do more to help Ukraine fight Russia. President Joe Biden said the US is sending more anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons and drones.
Zelenskiy admitted live to an enthusiastic audience of lawmakers on a huge screen that the no-fly zone he sought to “close the sky” to airstrikes on his country may not materialize. Biden resisted this, as well as US or NATO approval of sending MiG fighters from Poland.
Instead, Zelenskiy pleaded for other military assistance to stop the Russian advance.
Biden, describing the aid he was about to announce, said the US would send an additional $800 million in military aid, bringing the total amount of such aid sent to Kiev to $2 billion since he joined the position over a year ago. About $1 billion in aid was sent last week. Biden said the new aid included 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 100 grenade launchers, 20 million small arms rounds, grenade launchers and mortars, and an unspecified number of drones.
“We are going to give Ukraine weapons to fight and defend itself in the difficult days ahead,” Biden said.
Biden spoke hours after Zelenskiy delivered a video message to members of the US Congress in which he passionately urged the US and the West to provide more help to save his fledgling democracy than world leaders had promised.
For the first time in a public address to world leaders, he showed a crowded audience of lawmakers a visual video of the destruction and devastation his country suffered in the war, as well as heartbreaking scenes of civilian casualties.
“We need you right now,” Zelensky said. “I encourage you to do more.”
Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation before and after his brief speech, which Zelenskiy began in Ukrainian through an interpreter but then switched to English in a heartfelt appeal to help end the bloodshed.
“I see no point in life if it cannot stop death,” he said.
Approaching the three-week mark in an ever-escalating war, Zelensky has used the global stage to plead with allied leaders to help stop the Russian invasion of his country. The young actor-turned-president often draws on history to give meaning to what has become a powerful phenomenon.
Biden has refrained from granting a no-fly zone or transferring military aircraft from neighboring Poland as the US seeks to avoid a direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.
The White House is considering giving Ukraine access to US-made Switchblade drones that can fly and strike Russian targets, according to another person familiar with the matter and not authorized to speak publicly. It wasn’t immediately clear if the new drones Biden said would be delivered to Ukraine would include Switchblades.
Zelenskiy has emerged as a heroic figure at the center of what many see as the biggest security threat to Europe since World War II. Nearly 3 million refugees have left Ukraine, the fastest exodus in modern times.
Zelinsky, dressed in his signature army green T-shirt, began addressing his “American friends” by talking about the devastation the United States suffered in 1941 when Japan bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and the attacks on the World Trade center in 2001. and the Pentagon by militants who hijacked passenger planes to crash into symbols of Western democracy and economics.
“Remember Pearl Harbor? …Remember 9/11?” Zelensky asked. “Our countries are experiencing the same thing every day right now.”
Biden said he listened to Zelenskiy’s “important” speech but did not directly respond to the Ukrainian’s criticism that the US and the West could do more. The US president said Zelenskiy’s speech reflected the “courage and strength” of Ukrainians throughout the crisis.
“We are united in our disgust with Putin’s depraved onslaught, and we will continue to support their backs as they fight for their freedom, their democracy, their very survival.”
Senator Angus King, Independent Member of Maine. said there was a “collective breath hold” in the room during Zelenskiy’s speech. Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said: “If you haven’t watched this video and don’t feel that not only the United States, but the free nations of the world have an obligation to unite in support of Ukraine, you had eyes. closed.” Majority member Dick Durbin called the appeal heartbreaking and said, “I agree with carte blanche on sanctions and we are doing everything in our power to stop this Russian advance.”
Outside the Capitol, demonstrators held a large sign that lawmakers saw when they returned to their offices. “No-Fly Zone = World War III”.
The Ukrainian president is no stranger to Congress, having played a central role in Donald Trump’s first impeachment. As president, Trump was accused of withholding security assistance to Ukraine because he pressured Zelensky to dig up dirt on Biden’s political rival. Zelenskiy spoke Wednesday from a huge screen to many of the same Republican lawmakers who refused to impeach or convict Trump, but are among the bipartisans in Congress who are now demanding military aid to Ukraine.
He thanked the American people, saying that Ukraine is grateful for the support shown, although he urged Biden to do more.
“You are the leader of the nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world,” he said. “To be the leader of the world is to be the leader of the world.”
It was the latest visit as Zelenskiy uses the great legislatures of the West in his appeals for help, referring to Shakespeare’s Hamlet last week in the British House of Commons, asking if Ukraine should “be or not be” and addressing “Dear Justin” on Tuesday . when he addressed the Canadian Parliament and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He often insists on more help to save his fledgling democracy than world leaders have promised to provide.
To Congress, he painted an image of Mount Rushmore and told lawmakers that the people in his country wanted to live their national dreams just as they did.
Democracy, Independence, Freedom.
Biden insisted that there would be no U.S. troops on Ukrainian soil and resisted Zelenskiy’s relentless calls for warplanes, deeming them too risky, which could lead to a direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.
“The direct conflict between NATO and Russia is the third world war,” Biden said.
Zelensky appears to have acknowledged the political reality.
“Isn’t it too much to ask for a no-fly zone over Ukraine?” he asked, answering his own question. “If it’s too much, we offer an alternative,” he said, calling for weapon systems to help fight Russian aircraft.
The Biden administration has already sent Ukraine more than 600 Stinger missiles, 2,600 Javelin anti-tank systems, unmanned aerial systems, tracking radars, grenade launchers, 200 shotguns, 200 machine guns, and nearly 40 million small arms rounds, as well as helicopters, patrol boats, satellite imagery, and body armor. helmets and other tactical gear, the US official said.
Congress has already approved $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and the recently announced security aid will come from that appropriation, which is part of a broader bill Biden signed into law on Tuesday.
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Associated Press contributors Zeke Miller, Mary Claire Jalonik, Aamer Madhani, Ellen Nickmeyer, Farnoush Amiri, Kevin Fracking, Alan Fram, Nomaan Merchant, and Chris Megerian and Raf Casert in Brussels, Jill Lawless in London, Aritz Parra in Madrid, and video journalist Rick Gentilo. to this report.