- A US package of around $2 billion will be announced.
- A Patriot missile battery is part of the new aid.
- Zielinski presented the medals in besieged Bakhmut, his office said.
Washington/Kew: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is on his first foreign visit to Russia in 300 days, leaving for the United States on Wednesday to meet with President Joe Biden and address Congress. attack of his neighbor.
Zielinski said he was going to Washington for talks with Biden. Strengthening Ukraine“resilience and defensive capabilities” amid repeated Russian attacks on energy and water supplies over the winter.
A senior U.S. official said Biden will announce a military aid package worth about $2 billion for Ukraine that will include a battery of Patriot missiles to help it defend itself against Russian missile barrages.
Zielinski’s visit, details of which emerged Tuesday night, was expected to last several hours.
He will hold talks with Biden and top national security aides at the White House, attend a joint news conference with Biden and then travel to Capitol Hill to address a joint session of the US Senate and House of Representatives.
“This visit will demonstrate the United States’ strong commitment to support Ukraine until then, including by providing economic, humanitarian and military assistance,” White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February. With the goal of capturing Kyiv in 24 days, a goal that soon proved out of reach. Russian President Vladimir Putin called Russia’s “special military operation” to “deactivate” Ukraine as Moscow finally stood up to the West and took advantage of the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union to destroy Russia. wants
Since then, thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed, millions of people have been forced from their homes and entire cities have been reduced to ruins.
Biden will face a man he has spoken to regularly over the past 10 months but has not met in person since the battle began. Backed by Biden, the West has rallied behind Ukraine and sought to isolate Moscow without engaging in direct conflict with Russia.
The US official said Biden would not use the talks to push Zelensky to the negotiating table with Putin. Currently, peace talks are not taking place.
The Biden administration has provided nearly $20 billion in military aid to Ukraine, including artillery ammunition, NASAMS air defense systems and munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).
Zielinski has repeatedly called on the West for more weapons.
‘Fort Bakhtmut’
On Tuesday, he made a surprise visit to the eastern front-line city of Bakhmut, his office said, underscoring Russia’s turbulent but continued efforts to capture it.
In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy called it a visit to “Fortress Bakhmut” in Donetsk, which Russia claimed in September. Most countries reject Russia’s claim as an illegal occupation.
Dressed in combat khaki, Zielinski presented medals to soldiers at an industrial complex to applause, a video released by his office showed.
In contrast, Putin gave medals to the Russian-appointed leaders of the four Ukrainian regions claimed by Russia in the comfort of the Kremlin.
Video footage released on Ukraineform TV, part of Ukraine’s state news agency, showed soldiers in Bakhmut handing Zelensky a Ukrainian flag signed by him.
“We’re going to hand it over to Congress and the boys to the president of the United States,” Zelinsky said in the video. “We are grateful for the support. But it is not enough,” he added.
He urges the soldiers to keep their morale high, as the Battle of Bakhmut reflects the grinding brutality of war.
“The East is holding back because Bachmouth is fighting. In fierce battles and at the cost of many lives, freedom is being defended here for all of us,” Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Putin on Tuesday acknowledged difficulties for Russian forces in parts of Ukraine, which Russia calls the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics in the east.
Ukraine’s Luhansk regional military administration said Russian mining had slowed down Ukrainian forces in the area.
“The hardest direction along the entire front line is Bakhmut,” he said on a telegram. “The Russians set their sights on winning at least some victory there.”
The US Senate has introduced a government funding bill that includes $44.9 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine and NATO allies. The money will be used to fund military training, equipment, logistics and intelligence support, as well as replenish US equipment sent to Ukraine.
The World Bank said on Tuesday it had approved an additional $610 million financing package for Ukraine to cover immediate relief and rehabilitation needs.
Prime Minister Denis Schmeichel said Ukrainians should be prepared for new attacks by Russia on energy infrastructure as it wants them to spend Christmas and New Year in the dark.