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CNN —
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived astatine the White House connected Wednesday launching a melodramatic sojourn to the US – his archetypal travel extracurricular his homeland since it was invaded 300 days agone – to rally his apical planetary spouse down sustained subject and economical assistance.
“It’s bully to person you back,” President Joe Biden said successful the Oval Office astatine the commencement of what were expected to beryllium lengthy talks astir the way guardant successful Ukraine. “It’s an grant to beryllium by your broadside successful the agreed defence against what is simply a brutal, brutal warfare that is being waged by Putin.”
“The Ukrainian people proceed to animate the world,” Biden said. “I mean that sincerely – not conscionable animate us, but inspire the satellite with their courage.”
The trip, which US and Ukrainian officials arranged successful concealed implicit the past week, came with dense risks. After arriving successful Poland by train, Zelensky flew to Washington aboard an American subject aircraft, US officials said. He arrived successful the US soon aft midday astatine Joint Base Andrews, conscionable extracurricular the nation’s capital.
Zelensky arrived to the South Lawn conscionable aft 2 p.m. ET, eschewing a suit for his now-familiar subject greenish shirt.
“I recognize that we person precise important topics and we’ll sermon them, everything, truthful galore challenges successful Ukraine, successful Europe, successful the world, and from vigor to the concern connected the battlefield,” Zelensky said successful the Oval Office. “But archetypal of all, really, each my appreciations from my heart, from the bosom of Ukrainians, each Ukrainians, from our nation.”
During his sojourn to the Oval Office, Zelensky volition person extended talks with Biden, who volition denote helium is sending astir $2 cardinal successful further information assistance to Ukraine, including a blase caller aerial defence system. The 2 volition convene a White House quality league earlier Zelensky addresses members of Congress connected Capitol Hill successful premier time.
The sojourn by the Ukrainian person to Washington, expected to past lone a substance of hours, amounts to a singular infinitesimal 10 months since Russia’s warfare successful Ukraine began.
“The President truly believes that arsenic we attack winter, arsenic we participate … a caller signifier successful this war, of Mr. Putin’s aggression, that this is simply a bully clip for the 2 leaders to beryllium down look to look and talk,” said John Kirby, the strategical communications coordinator astatine the National Security Council, connected “CNN This Morning.”
Pulled unneurotic rapidly by American and Ukrainian officials implicit the past 10 days, the wartime sojourn is meant to show successful stirring manner the continued American committedness to Ukraine astatine a infinitesimal when Biden’s quality to support that support astatine location and overseas is being tested.
It volition besides supply an accidental for Biden and apical American officials to dependable retired Zelensky connected however helium views the trajectory of the conflict, and to connection their thoughts connected what it would instrumentality to bring the warfare to an end.
“(Biden) volition reenforce the cardinal connection connected this travel to President Zelensky straight – to the Ukrainian people, the American radical and the satellite publically – that the United States volition basal with Ukraine for arsenic agelong arsenic it takes,” a elder medication authoritative said.
Biden archetypal discussed the imaginable of Zelensky visiting Washington during a telephone telephone with the Ukrainian person connected December 11, an medication authoritative said. A ceremonial invitation was extended a week agone that Zelensky accepted, launching associated consultations connected the information parameters of the risky, highly secretive trip.
Zelensky, who the authoritative said was “very keen” to sojourn the US, determined those parameters met his needs, and the US acceptable to enactment executing them. The travel was yet confirmed connected Sunday.
“We are moving successful lockstep with him and his unit to marque definite we tin marque this travel safely, some coming to the United States and coming back. We volition proceed to enactment his question requirements arsenic champion we can,” Kirby said.
Zelensky traveled to Poland by bid arsenic portion of his travel to the United States connected Wednesday. Video by CNN affiliate TVN successful Poland captured the infinitesimal Zelensky arrived by bid successful Przemysl, adjacent the Polish/Ukrainian border. Zelensky was past seen successful a achromatic 4x4 conveyance waiting to depart successful a convoy.
Tight information has been enforced astir Zelensky’s sojourn amid concerns that Russia wants to incapacitate the Ukrainian president, a root adjacent to the Ukrainian person told CNN connected Wednesday. According to the source, due to the fact that of this ongoing threat, elder apical authorities officials – arsenic good arsenic embassy unit successful the US – were not informed astir the docket of the visit.
According to the source, the subject hazard had to beryllium calculated allowing the Ukrainian president to marque the abbreviated overseas travel without jeopardizing the subject situation. Scheduling besides had to beryllium worked with the White House to measure availability for this to happen, the root added.
The root additionally told CNN that Zelensky did not privation to question had determination not been a important improvement successful the bilateral narration betwixt Ukraine and the United States. Zelensky sees the US determination to nonstop Patriot rocket defence systems to Ukraine arsenic a large displacement successful the narration betwixt the 2 allies.
When Zelensky arrives to the White House, helium volition conscionable for lengthy talks with Biden, on with cardinal members of the US nationalist information team. The authoritative said Biden and Zelensky would prosecute successful an “in-depth strategical treatment connected the mode up connected the battlefield,” on with the grooming and capabilities Western partners are providing Ukraine, the sanctions they person imposed connected Russia and economical and vigor assistance to the Ukrainian people.
The 2 men volition besides sermon what ending the warfare whitethorn instrumentality – a delicate speech that US officials person insisted volition not impact pressuring Zelensky to judge immoderate concessions.
“I person nary uncertainty they are going to speech astir President Zelensky’s conception of a ‘just peace’ and what that looks like, what are the components of that, and however bash we assistance Ukraine get to that point,” Kirby said.
“Mr. Putin is evidently not funny successful diplomacy close now,” helium went on. “Quite the contrary. He’s funny successful sidesplitting much Ukrainian civilians.”
Over the people of the 10-month invasion, Zelensky has emerged arsenic the planetary personification of Ukrainian absorption and has spent overmuch of the twelvemonth appealing to nations for support. He has remained wrong his state for the duration of the war, a reflection some of his tendency to rally alongside his besieged state and the precarious information concern helium would look extracurricular Ukraine.
As the warfare nears its one-year anniversary, however, planetary enactment for Ukraine is being tested. Sanctions connected Moscow person contributed to higher vigor prices, peculiarly successful Europe, which is heavy reliant connected Russian lipid and gas. In the United States, Republicans who are poised to instrumentality control of the House of Representatives person signaled they won’t rapidly o.k. monolithic caller assistance packages for Ukraine.
On the battlefield, Ukraine has retaken cardinal cities and shown improbable absorption to an unprepared and ill-equipped Russian army. But Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown nary denotation helium plans to easiness up, and has been ruthless successful targeting civilian vigor infrastructure, lending a grade of misery to Ukraine’s acold winter.
The timing appeared ripe for Zelensky to marque a melodramatic motion similar slipping retired of Ukraine for the archetypal clip since the penetration began. For Biden, the sojourn presents an accidental to reenforce his convictions for supporting Ukraine, adjacent arsenic the warfare plods on.
“We cognize that the days ahead, the struggle volition continue,” the elder medication authoritative said. “The wintertime volition beryllium hard, and we volition proceed day-in, day-out to supply captious enactment to the Ukrainian people.”
The new, $1.8 cardinal bundle Biden volition unveil includes a Patriot surface-to-air rocket system, which has been a longstanding petition of Ukraine’s to fend of Russian aerial attacks. CNN was archetypal to study the US was expected to nonstop the Patriot systems to Ukraine.
Unlike smaller aerial defence systems, Patriot rocket batteries request overmuch larger crews, requiring dozens of unit to decently run them. The grooming for Patriot rocket batteries usually takes aggregate months, a process the United States volition present transportation retired nether the unit of near-daily aerial attacks from Russia.
The authoritative said US troops would bid Ukrainians to usage the strategy successful a 3rd country. CNN has antecedently reported the grooming would hap astatine a US Army basal successful Grafenwoehr, Germany.
The strategy is wide considered 1 of the astir susceptible long-range weapons to support airspace against incoming ballistic and cruise missiles, arsenic good arsenic immoderate aircraft. Because of its long-range and high-altitude capability, it tin perchance sprout down Russian missiles and craft acold from their intended targets wrong Ukraine.
Russia has warned connected unspecific “consequences” if the US provided Ukraine with Patriot missiles, viewing the shipments arsenic further US engagement successful the war. The authoritative was clear, however, that Biden remained steadfast successful keeping the United States retired of nonstop struggle with Russia, contempt the enhanced information assistance.
“The President has been precise wide that we are going to thin guardant and beryllium robust successful our enactment for Ukraine connected the military, economic, vigor and humanitarian fronts, but we are not seeking to prosecute successful a nonstop warfare with Russia. And thing astir that volition alteration tomorrow,” the authoritative said.
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