Zelenskyy Meet Biden at the White House
Washington, MINA – President of the United States (US) Joe Biden received a visit from President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, Washington DC on Wednesday.
For Zelenskyy, this is his first visit outside Ukraine since Russia launched an attack on his country in February.
As quoted from Voice of America, the two leaders held talks at the White House before Zelensyy addressed a joint session of Congress that evening.
A senior administration official told reporters the talks included “deep strategic discussions, about the way forward on the battlefield,” what equipment and training the US and other allies could provide, as well as economic, energy, humanitarian aid.
“President Biden had the opportunity to make clear that this support is not just about what has been done before, but what can be done now and will continue to be done, as long as needed,” the official said.
Although Zelenskyy has not left Ukraine since the invasion, he has made trips outside the capital, Kyiv, including a visit Tuesday to the eastern city of Bakhmut where his troops have been engaged in heavy fighting.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly urged the United States and other countries to provide air defense systems that could help Ukraine counter missile and drone attacks by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The attacks have hit cities across Ukraine and destroyed their infrastructure.
Ahead of Zelenskyy’s arrival in Washington, the US announced a new military aid package for Ukraine that included the Patriot missile, a more advanced air defense system than Ukraine had previously had access to.
“This $1 billion in aid will expand Ukraine’s air defense and strike capability, as well as add critical ammunition and equipment that Ukraine uses so effectively to defend itself on the battlefield,” Foreign Minister Antony Blinken said in a statement.
“The Department of Defense also announced an additional $850 million in security assistance for Ukraine today under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. This will bring total US military assistance to Ukraine to $21.9 billion, which is unprecedented since the start of the Biden Administration,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesdau that new arms shipments to Ukraine would deepen the conflict and that Russia saw no chance for peace talks with Ukraine. (T/RE1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
