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WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with President Joe Biden on the White House on Wednesday ahead of a scheduled address to a joint session of Congress late evening. It was Zelensky’s first known wartime trip outside of Ukraine because the starting of the Russian invasion last February.
Zelensky arrived on the White House shortly after 2 p.m. for a bilateral meeting with Biden, accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“It’s an honor to be by your side, united in defense on this brutal, brutal war,” Biden told Zelensky within the Oval Office ahead of the bilateral meeting.
“Ukrainians proceed to encourage the world, and I mean that sincerely,” Biden said. “Don’t just encourage us, but encourage the world along with your courage and the way they selected resilience and determination for his or her future.”
The 2 leaders plan to carry a joint press conference after the meeting, currently scheduled for 4:30 p.m. EST.
Zelensky’s visit got here because the U.S. Senate prepared to vote on a cumulative spending bill that features about $45 billion in military and economic aid to Ukraine over the approaching yr, billions greater than Biden initially requested in November.
Along with money from the omnibus account, the Biden administration announced a virtually $2 billion security assistance package during Zelensky’s visit.
“We’ll proceed to strengthen Ukraine’s self-defense capability, especially air defense,” Biden said firstly of the meeting between the 2 leaders. “Subsequently, we’ll provide Ukraine with a battery of Patriot missiles and train your forces in order that they know how you can use it accurately.”
Up to now, america has opposed sending Patriot missile batteries to Ukraine, partly because of concerns that Ukrainian troops would have difficulty properly using complex, multi-part weapons that requires dozens of soldiers handle it.
As with Wednesday’s aid package, the help contemplated by Congress is essentially military in nature, with greater than $20 billion to provide arms and equipment to Ukraine’s armed forces as they battle fiercely in freezing temperatures to retake territories occupied by Russian troops.
This figure also includes funds to replenish U.S. Department of Defense stocks which have been depleted after nearly a yr of delivering equipment to Ukraine.
One other $6.2 billion was earmarked for the hundreds of U.S. troops Biden ordered deployed to Eastern Europe shortly after Russia invaded. Most of them are stationed in Romania and Poland.
A employee installs Ukrainian and American flags near the U.S. Capitol ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit for talks with U.S. President Joe Biden and a speech at a joint session of Congress in Washington, U.S., December 21, 2022.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
Meanwhile, Ukrainian civilians are being bombarded almost continuously by Russian missiles and drones, which have destroyed vast swathes of the country’s electricity grid and water infrastructure.
If the Senate approves the full-year government funding bill, it’ll go to the House of Representatives, where the Democratic leadership desires to pass it and send it to Biden’s desk before he leaves for Thursday’s Christmas break.
The Biden administration and lots of of Ukraine’s congressional supporters also hope Zelensky’s visit will help solidify Congress’s support for the huge bailout package.
After nearly a yr of war, some Republicans began to openly query whether the US should proceed to fund the Ukrainian military.