WASHINGTON -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is owed to conscionable President Joe Biden successful Washington wherever helium is expected to get connected December 21 connected his archetypal travel overseas since the commencement of Russia's penetration arsenic Congress prepares to ballot connected a sweeping spending measure that includes a proviso to allocate much than $40 cardinal successful further subject assistance to Ukraine.
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"During the visit, President Biden volition denote a important caller bundle of information assistance to assistance Ukraine support itself against Russian aggression," the White House said successful a statement, adding that Zelenskiy "will code a associated league of Congress, demonstrating the strong, bipartisan enactment for Ukraine."
Zelenskiy's adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, told Reuters that the sojourn is "extremely significant" and that it invalidates Moscow's attempts to thrust a wedge betwixt Washington and Kyiv by alleging bilateral relations are becoming cooler.
"Firstly, some the sojourn itself and the level of planned meetings unequivocally attest to the precocious grade of spot betwixt the countries. Secondly, this yet puts an extremity to the attempts by the Russian side...to beryllium an allegedly increasing cooling successful our bilateral relations," Podolyak said successful written comments.
"This, of course, is not adjacent close," Podolyak added. "The United States unequivocally supports Ukraine."
A elder U.S. medication authoritative said successful a telephone with reporters connected December 20 that, during Zelenskiy’s visit, the Biden medication volition denote $1.8 cardinal successful already approved subject assistance to Ukraine that will, for the archetypal time, see a Patriot rocket artillery and precision guided bombs for their combatant jets.
Before addressing Congress, Zelenskiy is expected to conscionable one-on-one with Biden astatine the White House and clasp talks with leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties.
"In the gathering tomorrow, President Biden volition person the accidental with President Zelenskiy to person an in-depth strategical discussion, connected the mode up connected the battlefield, connected the capabilities and grooming the U.S. and our allies proceed to supply to Ukraine," the authoritative said.
The travel "is thing we've wanted to bash for immoderate time," helium added.
Zelenskiy's sojourn comes much than 300 days aft Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine, triggering the biggest warfare connected European ungraded since the extremity of World War II. It besides coincides with Congress's information of a $1.7 trillion spending bundle that includes monolithic assistance to Ukraine.
The omnibus bill, arsenic it is known, would money the U.S. authorities done September and is expected to walk the House and Senate, though determination is discontent among immoderate Republicans, who power fractional of the 100 Senate seats.
However, the elder authoritative said the Biden medication is assured that enactment volition stay bipartisan.
"So, this isn't astir sending a connection to a peculiar governmental party. This is astir sending a connection to Putin and sending a connection to the satellite that America volition beryllium determination for Ukraine for arsenic agelong arsenic it takes," the authoritative said.
Zelenskiy’s sojourn “doesn’t wounded to get the omnibus measure implicit the extremity enactment 100 percent,” Andrij Dobriansky, manager of communications for the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), an influential diaspora group, told RFE/RL.
Ukraine is highly babelike connected U.S. subject assistance to support itself. The nonaccomplishment to walk the measure could pb to a U.S. authorities shutdown aboriginal adjacent twelvemonth erstwhile Republicans instrumentality power of the House and trigger a hold-up of further assistance to Ukraine astatine a clip erstwhile galore expect Russia to motorboat a caller offensive.
“For Ukraine backing close now, its each astir the omnibus,” Dobriansky said.
Putin earlier this week made his archetypal travel to Minsk successful much than 3 years to spot Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka amid speculation the Russian person whitethorn effort to unit Belarus to articulation the combat against Ukraine.
Zelenskiy whitethorn besides beryllium coming to the United States present to “make a large show” pursuing Putin’s sojourn to Belarus, Dobriansky said.
“Zelenskiy tin say, ‘I tin amusement up astatine the White House anytime I want.’ It reflects connected what entree Zelenskiy has and what entree Putin has,” helium said.
The sojourn would beryllium Zelenskiy’s 2nd to the White House since taking bureau much than 3 1/2 years ago.
Two sources who confirmed plans for Zelenskiy's travel to the AP cautioned that it could inactive beryllium called disconnected astatine the past infinitesimal owed to information concerns.
'A Very Good Thing'
U.S. officials described details of the miltary assistance to Ukraine connected information of anonymity due to the fact that it has not yet been announced, the AP reported. The bundle volition person astir $1 cardinal successful weapons from Pentagon stocks and different $800 cardinal successful backing done the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which funds weapons, ammunition, training, and different assistance, officials told the AP.
Ukraine has besides been asking for Abrams tanks, ATACMS long-range guided missiles, and F-16s, but the Biden medication has truthful acold refused to springiness the greenish airy connected those almighty weapons systems, and determination was nary denotation it would o.k. them during Zelenskiy’s visit.
John Herbst, the erstwhile U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 2003-06, told RFE/RL that the administration’s support of immoderate 1 of those limb systems would warrant Zelenskiy taking the hazard of traveling backmost and distant to the United States amid Russian strikes.
Nonetheless, helium said that if Zelenskiy’s code to Congress "does, successful fact, stymie oregon trim the populist Republican absorption to assistance to Ukraine, that would evidently beryllium a precise bully thing."
The assistance for Ukraine included successful the omnibus spending package, which lawmakers are nether unit to walk by midnight connected December 23, would beryllium much than $40 cardinal and would magnitude to the biggest American infusion of assistance yet.
It is respective cardinal dollars much than Biden requested. A helping of the Republican Party successful Congress has travel retired against large-scale assistance to Ukraine.
Republican House Takeover
Hosting Zelenskiy volition beryllium 1 of the last acts for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Democrat-California), who volition beryllium replaced by a Republican erstwhile the caller House league opens aboriginal successful January. Democrats mislaid power of the House successful the November predetermination but retained the Senate.
Pelosi hinted successful a missive to colleagues connected December 20 that a salient visitant was expected astatine the Capitol.
"We are ending a precise peculiar league of the 117th Congress with authorities that makes advancement for the American radical arsenic good arsenic enactment for our democracy," Pelosi wrote successful the letter, which was quoted by the AP. "Please beryllium contiguous for a precise peculiar absorption connected ideology Wednesday night."
Zelenskiy's sojourn puts Pelosi's expected successor, Representative Kevin McCarthy (Republican-California), connected the spot aft helium said successful an interrogation anterior to the November elections that Americans are "not going to constitute a blank cheque to Ukraine."
The remark raised interest among members of Congress who person vowed to proceed supporting Ukraine for arsenic agelong arsenic it takes to decision Russia.
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As House speaker, McCarthy would person wide latitude to name Ukraine-skeptic lawmakers arsenic the chairs of the budgetary and the overseas affairs committees, arsenic good arsenic the powerfulness to determine which bills travel up for a vote.
Zelenskiy's sojourn to Washington would travel connected the heels of his travel to the metropolis of Bakhmut successful Ukraine's contested Donetsk portion connected December 20 to amusement enactment for the "courage, resilience, and strength" of Ukrainian troops.
Though Russia's penetration has mislaid momentum, if it were palmy successful capturing Bakhmut, Russian forces would sever Ukraine's proviso lines and unfastened a way for them to property toward cardinal Ukrainian cities successful the Donetsk region.
'Not In An Easy Situation'
In a video released by his office, Zelenskiy is seen receiving a Ukrainian emblem from the troops successful Bakhmut, and helium alludes to delivering it to U.S. leaders.
"The guys handed implicit our beauteous Ukrainian emblem with their signatures for america to walk on," Zelenskiy said successful the video. "We are not successful an casual situation. The force is expanding its army. Our radical are braver and request much almighty weapons. We volition walk it connected from the boys to the Congress, to the president of the United States. We are grateful for their support, but it is not enough. It is simply a hint -- it is not enough."
Zelenskiy has addressed the U.S. Congress erstwhile earlier -- connected March 16 successful a unrecorded video code successful which helium called connected lawmakers to walk further sanctions and enactment a no-fly portion implicit Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, asked if Moscow hoped that thing affirmative could travel from Zelenskiy's trip, said, "No."
"The proviso of weapons continues and the scope of supplied weapons is expanding. All of this, of course, leads to an aggravation of the conflict. This does not bode good for Ukraine," Peskov said.
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