The rare working visit comes at the invitation of Biden. Zelensky hopes to strengthen cooperation between the countries regarding war. The military support of the Americans is very important for Ukraine, which was invaded by Russian troops almost ten months ago.
Winston Churchill
“Much to discuss,” Biden tweeted. US lawmakers draw a comparison with British leader Winston Churchill’s visit to Washington 81 years ago. Shortly after the Japanese attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in 1941, he appealed to then-President Franklin Roosevelt to end the United States’ detachment from World War II. Zelensky had previously compared his country’s resistance to the UK’s solitary fight against the Nazis before the US abandoned its isolationism after Pearl Harbor.
Following their meeting, the two heads of state will hold a joint press conference at around 10.30pm Dutch time. Biden will announce a new weapons package, worth nearly $2 billion. This should help Ukraine defend itself. The Ukrainian army will receive, among other things, a Patriot anti-aircraft system. A senior US official described it as “an important asset in defending the people from Russia’s barbaric attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure”.
September ’21 also in the White House
Zelensky and Biden have spoken to each other several times since the war broke out, but have not yet met. It is not the first visit to the White House for the Ukrainian president. There he was also received by Biden in September 2021. At the time, the US president was committed to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, where the war was then only in the east.
The White House reports that the Ukrainian president will be in Washington for only a few hours before returning to his country immediately. His speech to the joint houses of the US parliament is scheduled for 1:30 Dutch time. Then he returns to Kiev.
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