The call comes after the Biden administration this week requested a $10 billion bailout for Ukraine in what appears to be bipartisan but could be mired in other financial wrangling. According to interlocutors, Zelensky did not use the words “no-fly zone”, instead insisting on the need for “control of the sky” to combat Russian bombing.
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The message was “close the skies or give us planes,” Senator Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) said in a statement after the call, which lasted just under an hour.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg this week again ruled out sending NATO aircraft into Ukrainian airspace to shoot down Russian jets.
Faced with this well-known reluctance, Zelenskiy has asked US lawmakers for another way to limit the damage from Russia’s devastating air raids: more planes for Ukraine.
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“His main request was that the US allow Poland and Romania to transfer Soviet-era jets to #Ukraine, and the US compensate by providing better aircraft to these two NATO allies,” said Rep. Brad Sherman (R-Calif.) . said on twitter message.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (DN.Y.) said in a statement that he would help the Biden administration meet what he called Zelenskiy’s “desperate request” for Eastern European countries to provide Russian-made aircraft.
Senator Chris Van Hollen (Md.) tweet urged NATO to “immediately facilitate the transfer of fighters from Poland, Romania and Slovakia to Ukraine.” Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) also tweeted that the US and NATO should support Zelensky’s request for aircraft.
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At one point, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) asked a question about missiles, clearly referring to the Stinger air defense systems that the United States continues to supply to Ukraine, according to two interlocutors. .
Zelenskiy was quick to counter that there weren’t enough missiles; Ukraine needs planes, he said.
The Ukrainian Air Force uses mostly old Soviet-era jets, including MiG-29 fighters, while former Warsaw Pact countries that have since joined NATO, such as Poland and Romania, use similar models that Ukrainian pilots could fly without special additional training.
But supplying Ukraine with fighter jets, even with outdated technology, would be an important step forward from the military support currently coming from the US and NATO, which mainly includes small arms and man-portable missiles.
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It will also leave gaps in the donor countries’ own air defense capabilities, which may require NATO allies to replenish these forces with expensive modern aircraft, which will require significant retraining of pilots.
Zelenskiy spoke to MPs from a table and a chair in a well-lit room, with a blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag on his back, a departure from some recent interviews that made the president look like he was in a dark underground bunker.
But the security threats remained, and the Ukrainian ambassador asked U.S. lawmakers not to share details of the meeting on social media until it’s over, according to Twitter. message after meeting with Representative Dean Phillips (Minnesota). Phillips criticized two Senators – Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Steve Danes (R-Mont.) – for sharing screen shots from the Zoom call while it was still in progress.
The Ambassador of Ukraine deliberately asked each of us on Zoom NOT to share anything on social media during the meeting to protect the safety of President Zelenskiy. Terrible and reckless ignorance on the part of two US Senators. https://t.co/geolhKxbLp
— Rep. Dean Phillips 🇺🇸 (@RepDeanPhillips) March 5, 2022
Zelensky also stressed that stopping purchases of Russian oil and gas around the world could become a sanction “even more powerful than SWIFT.” message from Senator Dan Sullivan (Republic of Alaska). Zelenskiy was referring to the critical interbank financial messaging system that Russia was denied access to after the invasion.
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Zelenskiy said such a ban was necessary, the interlocutors said, as he argued for the most complete isolation of the Russian economy, including shutting down the Visa and Mastercard payment networks there.
“He pushed pretty hard for an absolute, total boycott,” Rep. Daniel Kildee (D-Michigan) said. “He was strong and quite efficient.”
Stopping US purchases of Russian oil and gas appears to have growing bipartisan support, but it also threatens to cause even more chaos in energy markets.
Although Russian oil makes up only a fraction of the US oil market, the move could lead to a further spike in gas station prices. U.S. gas prices are already rising at the fastest pace on record, according to the AAA. The average price per gallon of unleaded gasoline on Friday was $3.84.
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Earlier this week, the White House said the United States and other countries would use their strategic reserves to keep oil prices down.
Regarding Zelenskiy’s requests for military and humanitarian aid, Rep. Mike Quigley (R-Illinois) said lawmakers should approve them as soon as possible.
“We must provide the Ukrainian people with the support they need in the face of this illegal invasion,” Quigley said.
Zelensky said at the end of the meeting: “We are all one big army now. The Ukrainian people are now the embodiment of unity in the name of democracy for the whole world, ”says on Twitter. message from Rep. Andy Levin (Michigan).
Ukrainian officials have found a receptive audience in US lawmakers since the Russian attack.
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Demonstrating Congressional support for Ukraine, her ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, attended President Biden’s address to Congress on Tuesday and received thunderous applause when the president pointed her out.
Ukrainian MP Oleksandra Ustinova also met with US senators on Tuesday to push for more immediate sanctions if Ukraine resists Russian attacks.
Dan Lamothe contributed to this report.