WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the midst of a dramatic, risky wartime visit to Washington, where he met with President Joe Biden on Wednesday at the White House, thanked the U.S. for its support of his country’s war with Russia and pleaded for more U.S. aid.
“All my appreciation from my heart, from the hearts of all Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy said, speaking in English and seated next to Biden in the Oval Office. “Thanks from our ordinary people to your ordinary people, Americans.”
Biden lamented the brutality of the Russian onslaught on Ukraine, which he said targets civilians and infrastructure and uses “winter as a weapon.”
“Ukrainian people continue to inspire the world … with their courage and how they chose resilience and resolve for their future,” Biden added.
In addition to a warm welcome from Biden, administration officials and enthused supporters of Ukraine, Zelenskyy was greeted with the president’s announcement of $1.8 billion in new aid, including a sophisticated Patriot missile battery that Kyiv has long sought.
Zelenskyy wore olive drab fatigues, a glaring reminder of the war back home amid the opulence of the White House’s inner chambers. Outside he was met by a red carpet facing the South Lawn, a military honor guard and an embrace from Biden.
Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S., his first known trip outside his nation since Russia invaded 300 days ago, was a closely guarded secret until the eve of his arrival. It is fraught with risk and danger and shrouded in extreme security measures.
Zelenskyy told Biden the trip was made possible by U.S. support that has allowed Ukrainian forces to “control the situation.”
Zelenskyy presented Biden with a medal that had been awarded to a Ukrainian officer who captained a U.S.-supplied rocket battery. The officer, who met with Zelenskyy in the hotly contested front-line town of Bakhmut on Tuesday, told him to “give it to the very brave president.” The award is the cross for military merit, according to Zelenskyy.
“Well, undeserved but much appreciated,” Biden said. He asked Zelenskyy to give the officer a U.S. challenge coin, a medallion given to honor military service. This isn’t about sending a message to a political party. This is about sending a message to Putin and to the world that America will be there for Ukraine for as long as it takes.White House statement
After the White House meeting with Biden, Cabinet members and the U.S. national security team, the youthful leader — whose nightly video addresses have served as an important morale booster for his people — will hold a news conference aimed at reaching the American public.
“I am in Washington today to thank the American people, the President and the Congress for their much-needed support. And also to continue cooperation to bring our victory closer,” Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel ahead of his arrival at the White House.
Later, he will meet House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and deliver a speech to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill.
At the start of his journey, Zelenskyy arrived in Poland by train, accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, before flying on a U.S. Air Force jet to a military base outside Washington. He arrived around noon local time, was greeted by American military officials and the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S., and was transported by motorcade to the heart of the nation’s capital, where a yellow-and-blue Ukrainian flag flew over Blair House, the traditional lodging for visiting heads of state.
