By The opinion
Dec 11, 2023, 3:28 PM EST
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky reaffirmed this Monday in Washington the need for his country to receive more funds to defend itself from Russia.and argued that that country will not be content with just a part of Ukraine’s territory.
“Ukraine has not given up and will not give up. We know what to do and you can count on Ukraine. We also hope to be able to count on you.“Zelensky said at the United States National Defense University on the eve of meeting at the White House with his American counterpart, Joe Biden.
Zelensky, who was in Buenos Aires yesterday at the inauguration of the new president of Argentina, Javier Milei, visits Washington for the third time since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in February 2022.
His trip occurs when the funds already approved by the United States for Ukraine are about to run out and after the Republicans blocked, on the 6th, the approval in the Senate of a budget project of about 105,000 million dollars that included a allocation of 61,000 million for kyiv and about 14,000 for Israel.
The Republican caucus demands in return to restrict US immigration laws, particularly the asylum system, and eliminate a series of humanitarian permits for migrants.
“Putin will not be content with one part of Ukraine. He must lose“Warned Zelensky, who made it clear to the soldiers present in the room that they all know what it means for a soldier to wait for ammunition “without knowing if any support will arrive.”
The Ukrainian president stressed that his country has achieved “more than anyone expected” when Russia started the war and attributed this to the “bravery” of its Army and the “crucial” aid from the United States.
“Ukraine is in battle against a nuclear state and one of the largest armies“said Zelensky, who warned that “the current generation of free nations should learn from past conflicts in Europe that the destruction caused by dictatorships is very greedy and needs to be stopped from the beginning.”
In his meeting this Tuesday with Biden, he added, Zelensky will talk about the results he expects for this coming year based on what has already been achieved in 2023.
Last week, the United States and Ukraine signed a memorandum of understanding for the joint production of weapons that provides for the creation of factories on Ukrainian territory to provide its Army with military equipment to continue defending itself.
“Freedom always requires unity and must prevail when challenged“He stressed, making it clear that the true objective of Putin’s offensive is not Ukraine, but “freedom.”
In a press conference aboard Air Force One, White House Security Council spokesman John Kirby assured that the approval of new funds for Ukraine is a matter “vital to the national security” of the United States.
Biden will say “very clear” to Zelensky that Washington will continue to support kyiv given the intensification of fighting expected during the winter, he added.
The US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, spoke along the same lines in his appearance with Zelensky: “The commitments of the United States must be respected. “The security of the United States must be defended and its word must be kept,” he concluded.
With information from Efe.
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