Photo: Evan Vucci / POOL / EFE
President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met at the White House on Thursday and the two leaders defended continued US aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia, as Republican Party infighting over this aid is ongoing in the Congress.
At the White House, the Ukrainian leader and the first lady, Olena Zelenska, were received in style with a welcome ceremony in the gardens of the presidential mansion.
US honor guards formed a corridor through which the black vehicle in which Zelensky and his wife traveled to the White House passed, where they were received by President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden who were waiting for them in a red carpet with flags of the United States and Ukraine.
Biden received Zelensky at the White House during the Ukrainian president’s tour of Washington DC, which included a meeting at the Capitol with Democratic and Republican legislators on which the approval of another $24 billion dollars for Ukraine depends.
Zelensky also met this Thursday with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austinand laid a wreath at the Pentagon memorial for the victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
The president of Ukraine highlighted the need to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses, a request that comes just hours after Russia bombed several towns in the country.
“When it comes to weapons, I hope we talk about everything with a special emphasis on air defenses,” said the leader of Ukraine at the beginning of a meeting with Biden in the Oval Office of the White House and in the presence of the media. Communication.
kyiv has been asking Washington for months to send long-range ATACM missiles, but the White House has refused to provide them to avoid causing an escalation of war with Russia.
Those missiles will also not be part of a new aid package that Biden plans to announce this Thursdayaccording to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in a press conference.
Russia bombed several Ukrainian regions with cruise missiles in recent hours, causing loss of life and serious damage to the country’s infrastructure.
Before the press and in the presence of Biden, Zelensky assured that his meetings with legislators in Congress were “constructive” and “frank.”
“Today I am in Washington to strengthen our coalition and defend Ukrainian children, our families, our homes, freedom and democracy in the world. I started my day in the US Congress to thank its members and the American people for the great and enormous support they have given us,” Zelensky said.
“And I began my day in the United States Congress to thank its members and the American people for their great support. I felt trust between us. “It allowed us to have a frank and constructive dialogue,” added the president of Ukraine.
Zelensky said he and Biden would discuss sending weapons to Ukraine “with special emphasis on air defense.”
Keep reading:
– Poland will stop supplying weapons to Ukraine: the dispute that threatens the close alliance between Warsaw and Kyiv in the war against Russia
– Zelensky warns the world about Russia at the UN: “Evil cannot be trusted”
– How Ukraine is trying to recover Crimea, “the Russian stronghold”