Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a dramatic speech to the US Congress on Wednesday night, stating that "Ukraine will never surrender to Russia" and appealing to lawmakers to approve additional aid to allow his country to do against 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 defended that the money granted by the United States to Ukraine does not It is not "charity" but an "investment" in democracy and global security.
Zelenskyy met early 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 invasion) the Ukrainian people have shown Russia and the world their steel backbone, 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 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.
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"I hope my words of respect and gratitude resonate in every American heart," he urged.
Since January 2021, the United States has committed more than $18.2 billion in security 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 would aggravate the war, while Russia's defense minister called for increasing the army's ranks by at least 500,000.
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 Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi with a flag signed by Ukrainian soldiers at the front lines in the town of Bakhmut.
"It is a symbol of victory in this war," she told him.
The president ended his speech as he began: with a standing ovation from members of Congress.
With information from The Associated Press and
NBC News
.
