Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a dramatic speech to the US Congress Wednesday night stating that "Ukraine will never surrender to Russia" and appealed to lawmakers to approve additional aid that would allow his country stand up to Vladimir Putin's offensive.
“The battle is not only for the lives, freedom and security of Ukrainians or any other nation that Russia tries to invade,” Zelenskyy told lawmakers, who will vote on an ambitious new war aid package.
“
The fight will define in which world our children and our grandchildren will live,
this battle cannot be frozen or ignored”.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy before Congress. Carolyn Kaster / AP
The Ukrainian president, who is making his first trip out of the country since the start of the Russian invasion 300 days ago, said that "the Russians are using everything they have" in the war and assured that the money given by the United States to Ukraine
would not It is not "charity" but an "investment" in democracy and global security.
Zelenskyy met earlier with President Joe Biden at the White House.
Biden announced a new military aid package for Ukraine that includes Patriot missiles for the first time.
"For 300 days (of the invasion), the Ukrainian people have shown Russia and the world their spine of steel, their love of the homeland and their unwavering determination (...) to choose their own path," Biden said earlier. .
This Wednesday night, the Ukrainian president was received by legislators at the Capitol to applause.
He began his speech by thanking "all those who value freedom and justice, who cherish it as strongly as we Ukrainians."
The victory against Russia, he later said, can be hastened with US economic aid.
The Russians "have an advantage in weapons, aircraft," she said, and "our defense stands out, but it's not enough."
"Your support is crucial," he insisted to lawmakers.
"I hope my words of respect and gratitude resonate in every American heart."
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Since January 2021, the United States has committed more than $18.2 billion in aid to Ukraine, according to the Defense Department.
[Zelenskyy thanks Biden in the White House for US help against Russia "from the heart of all Ukrainians"]
Russia warned on Wednesday that increasing US arms supplies to Ukraine will aggravate the war, while Russia's defense minister called for increasing the army's ranks by at least 500,000 troops.
During a meeting with the military leadership, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow would use the lessons learned in the conflict to "develop our armed forces and strengthen the capacity of our troops."
Zelenskyy, presented this Wednesday to the Democratic representative Nancy Pelosi a flag signed by Ukrainian soldiers at the front in the town of Bakhmut, in the form of thanks
"It is a symbol of victory in this war," he told her.
The president ended his speech in Congress as it began: with a standing ovation from legislators.
With information from The Associated Press and
NBC News
.
