Volodymyr Zelensky
Highlight
- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky cited 9/11 in his appeal to the US Congress
- Zelensky received a standing ovation during his address to the US Congress
- Nearing the 3-week mark, Zelensky has used his campaign to inspire Allied leaders to “close the skies”.
Russo-Ukraine War:
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday cited Pearl Harbor and the September 11 terrorist attacks as appealing to the US Congress to do more to help Ukraine’s fight against Russia, but called for a no-fly zone. which he has sought to “close the skies”. It cannot be his country.
Livestreamed at the Capitol complex, Zelensky said the US should ban Russian lawmakers and stop imports. He showed a packed auditorium of parliamentarians a graphic video of his country’s devastation and devastation in the war, as well as heart-wrenching scenes of civilian casualties.
“We need you now,” said Zelensky, “I ask you to do more.” Urging a sharp economic blow to the Russians, he said: “Peace is more important than income.”
Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation before and after his short remarks, which Zelensky began in Ukrainian through an interpreter but then turned into English in a heartfelt appeal to help end the bloodshed. “I see no point in life if it can’t prevent deaths,” he told them.
Wearing a short-sleeved Army T-shirt, Zelinsky begins his remarks by calling for the destruction the US suffered in 1941, when Japan bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, and World Trade in 2001. Center and Pentagon attacked. Terrorists who commanded passenger airplanes to crash into symbols of Western democracy and economy.
“Remember Pearl Harbor? Remember September 11th?” Zelenzki asked. “Our countries feel like this every day right now.”
Nearing the three-week mark in the ever-increasing war, Zelensky is urging Allied leaders to halt Russian airstrikes. President Joe Biden’s administration has halted providing no-fly zones or the transfer of military jets from neighboring Poland as the US seeks to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia.
Biden is set to deliver his own address after Zelensky’s speech, in which he is expected to announce an additional $800 million in security aid to Ukraine, according to a White House official. That would bring the total announced last week to $1 billion. This includes funding for anti-armor and air-defense weapons, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Zelensky has emerged as a heroic figure at the center of many views as the biggest security threat to Europe since World War II. Nearly three million refugees have fled Ukraine, the fastest migration in modern times.
The US Congress has been remarkably united in support of Ukraine and Sen. Angus King, Maine independent. said that there was a “collective catch of breath” in the room during Zelensky’s address. A group of protesters outside the Capitol held a large sign that lawmakers saw on their way back to their offices. “No Fly Zone = World War 3.”
Majority Whip Dick Durbin described the address as heartbreaking and vowed to take any action to stop the attack on the Ukrainian people. “I am on board with a blank investigation on sanctions, doing whatever we can to stop this Russian advance,” he said.
Ukraine’s president is no stranger to Congress, which has played a central role in the first impeachment of Donald Trump. As president, Trump was accused of withholding security aid to Ukraine as he pressured Zelensky to dig up dirt on political rival Biden. Zelensky spoke on the big screen to the same Republican lawmakers who refused to impeach or convict Trump but are among the bipartisan fray in Congress now battling for military aid to Ukraine.
He thanked the American people, saying Ukraine was “grateful” for the support, even as he urged Biden to use his office to do more.
“You are the leader of the nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world,” he gloomy. “To be the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.”
Invoking Shakespeare’s hero last week, Zelensky asked the British House of Commons whether Ukraine was “to be or not to be.” Addressing Canada’s parliament and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he appealed to “Dear Justin” on Tuesday. Zelensky called on EU leaders to subscribe to the politically unthinkable and fast-track Ukraine at the start of the war – and he continues to push for more help than world leaders can to save their young democracy Is.
For Congress, he told lawmakers on American history and the faces of past presidents on Mount Rushmore that the people in his country want to live out their national dream, just like you have. “Democracy, liberty, liberty.”
Biden has insisted that Ukraine will have no US troops on the ground and has opposed Zelensky’s relentless pleas for warplanes that are too risky, potentially escalating into a direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia. Used to be.
“The direct conflict between NATO and Russia is World War III,” Biden has said.
Zelensky appeared to acknowledge the political reality of his request to “close the sky” as he seeks further military aid from the US.
“Is it too much to ask for a no-fly zone over Ukraine?” He asked, answering his own question. “If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative,” calling for weapons systems that would help fight Russian aircraft.
Already the Biden administration has sent more than 600 Stinger missiles, 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems, unmanned aerial systems tracking radars to Ukraine; Along with grenade launchers, 200 shotguns, 200 machine guns and about 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition, helicopters, patrol boats, satellite imagery and body armor, helmets and other tactical gear, the official said.
This was not the first time Zelensky had appealed directly to Congress. About two weeks ago, he made a desperate plea over a private call to about 300 lawmakers and staff to at least send more planes if they can’t enforce a no-fly zone.
Congress has already approved $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, and the newly announced security aid will come from that allocation, part of a broader bill that Biden signed into law on Tuesday.