Three hundred days after the start of the Russian attack against Ukraine, the European head of state was received as a hero in Washington for his first international trip since the start of the Russian offensive on February 24, a trip to the constraints exceptional security and only a few hours, during which Joe Biden promised him new financial assistance and, for the first time, the supply of the Patriot air defense system.
“Your money is not charity, it is an investment in global security and democracy, which we manage in the most responsible way”, assured Mr. Zelensky in front of the American elected officials, who received it with a long standing ovation and stood up several times to applaud him during his speech.
“Contrary to the most dire predictions, Ukraine has not fallen.
Ukraine is alive and combative,” declared Volodymyr Zelensky, dressed in a khaki pullover with the Ukrainian trident.
She "holds her positions and will never surrender".
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He also linked the fight against Russia to the threat posed by Iran, speaking of two “terrorist” states, a theme dear to the Republican camp which criticizes Democratic President Joe Biden for being too complacent in the face of Tehran.
He then presented Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Vice Speaker Kamala Harris, Speaker of the Senate, with a Ukrainian flag from Bakhmout, a city in eastern Ukraine that is currently the warmer from the front, and covered with soldiers' signatures.
In return, they presented him with an American flag which was hoisted atop the Capitol on Wednesday to mark his historic visit to the capital.
New weapons, including the Patriot Air Defense
He had previously been received at the White House by his counterpart Joe Biden, who assured at a joint press conference that the United States would support his country "as long as necessary".
The American president also promised to "continue to strengthen Ukraine's ability to defend itself", with the commitment to provide it with the sophisticated Patriot air defense system.
Joe Biden also said he was "not at all worried" about the strength of the Western alliance in the face of the Russian invasion.
"I have never seen NATO or the EU so united," he said.
“Putin thought he would weaken NATO, instead he strengthened NATO”.
The Patriot system that the United States will provide to kyiv will "significantly" strengthen Ukrainian defense against Russian strikes, he thanked, seeing it as "a very important step in creating a secure airspace for Ukraine. ".
“It is a defensive system”, for his part underlined the American president.
"It's not an escalation measure, it's defensive," he insisted.
"Today's tranche of aid includes for the first time the Patriot air defense system, capable of shooting down cruise missiles, short-range ballistic missiles and aircraft at significantly higher altitudes than systems of defense that had been provided until then", for his part specified the Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Volodymyr Zelensky also insisted on the fact that a "just peace" implies "no compromise" on the territorial integrity of Ukraine.