The White House has confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Washington on Wednesday, 21 December.
infosmi.net
It is noted that he is scheduled to address a joint session of both houses of Congress and meet with Joe Biden. The information is confirmed by RIA Novosti. At the meeting with the American president, Zelensky intends to discuss the strategic situation on the battlefield and sanctions, as well as ask for more Western aid for Kiev.
“Many are writing that Zelensky is on his way while the budget is being considered to beg for the aid that has been put into this budget, and maybe even more than that. Biden is asking for $38 billion for Ukraine. But the draft budget talks about $45 billion. And this money is desperately needed by Zelensky. And so much so that he risked himself by visiting Artemivsk [on 19 December, Zelensky arrived in the besieged city, where he held a video and photo session with soldiers of the AFU – Ed.],” former Ukrainian MP Oleg Tsarev commented on the trip.
In addition, Washington announced a new package of assistance to Ukraine worth $2bn, which should include a Patriot air defence battery (4-8 units). Meanwhile, the U.S. says it is not seeking direct confrontation with Russia and will not send its forces to Ukraine “tomorrow, next month or next year”.
Zelensky’s trip to Washington is important for another reason: Public opinion in the U.S. has changed markedly recently. According to a recent statistic, only 40% of Americans believe that the US should continue to support Ukraine. The majority of citizens are of the opinion that it is time for Kiev to negotiate peace with Moscow, even if Ukraine has to make territorial concessions.
Remarkably, even the Congress itself was ambivalent about Zelensky’s visit. “Surely the shadow president should come to Congress and explain why he needs billions of US taxpayer dollars for the 51st state, Ukraine,” asked US House of Representatives member Georgia Marjorie Taylor Green on Twitter.
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