WASHINGTON/KYIV - US President Joe Biden on Wednesday stood alongside Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House to urge Americans and the world to keep supporting Kyiv in 2023 as the Ukrainian leader made his first foreign wartime visit.
The United States has sent about US$50 billion (S$67 billion) in assistance to Kyiv as Europe’s biggest land conflict since World War II drags on, killing tens of thousands of people, driving millions from their homes and reducing cities to ruins.
But some Republicans, who will take control of the House of Representatives next year, have expressed concerns about the price tag, and European countries have suffered due to energy problems and the hit to the global economy.
“As we head into the New Year, it’s important for the American people, and for the world, to hear directly from you Mr President about Ukraine’s fight and the need to continue to stand together through 2023,” said Mr Biden at a news conference.
Mr Biden told Mr Zelensky that Ukraine will “never stand alone”.
“Ukraine’s fight is part of something much bigger,” Mr Biden said at the joint press conference, pledging that the US would lend its support against “Russian aggression” for “as long as it takes”.
Mr Biden said he had never seen Nato nor the European Union more united than about Ukraine.
“We are discussing sanctions and legal pressure on the terrorist country Russia,” said Mr Zelensky, wearing his trademark olive green pants and sweater.
Earlier, Mr Biden and First Lady Jill greeted Mr Zelensky on the White House lawn before the two leaders spoke at the Oval Office.
Mr Zelensky, who will seek more support during the trip, is due to address a joint session of the US Senate and House of Representatives and meet Republican leaders there.
Some in Moscow expected the campaign to achieve a rapid victory. But the conflict is passing its 300-day milestone.
Mr Zelensky earlier presented Mr Biden with a medal offered by a captain of a Himars rocket unit and expressed gratitude for the US president’s role in helping Ukraine and rallying support.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the United States would provide another US$1.85 billion in military aid for Ukraine including a Patriot air defence system to help it ward off barrages of Russian missiles.
Ukraine has come under repeated Russian missile and drone strikes targeting its energy infrastructure, leaving millions of people without electricity or running water in the dead of a freezing winter.
The Patriot missile is deemed to be one of the most advanced US air defence systems, offering protection against attacking aircraft as well as cruise and ballistic missiles.
Mr Zelensky’s political adviser, Mr Mykhailo Podolyak, said the visit would allow Ukraine to explain the need for more advanced weaponry.
“Weapons, weapons and more weapons,” he told Reuters in written comments about goals for the trip. “In particular, armoured vehicles, the latest missile defence systems and long-range missiles.”
Mr Zelensky has made a point of staying close to his people during the war and advocating for his former Soviet state on the world stage, with daring trips to battlefronts, countless calls with world leaders and videolink speeches to parliaments and international institutions.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Washington was seeing no sign that Russian President Vladimir Putin was willing to engage in peacemaking.
The Kremlin said on Wednesday it saw no chance of peace talks with Kyiv. In a call with reporters, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that continued Western arms supplies to Ukraine would lead to a “deepening” of the conflict.
Russia says it is waging a “special military operation” in Ukraine to rid it of nationalists and protect Russian-speaking communities. Ukraine and the West describe the Kremlin’s actions as an unprovoked war of aggression. REUTERS
