Zelensky planning to visit Washington to address Congress - Axios

Capitol Hill is preparing to big Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a associated league of Congress this week, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Zelensky has not near Ukraine since Russia launched its brutal penetration connected Feb. 24, unleashing incalculable suffering connected the Ukrainian radical and triggering daze waves passim the planetary economy.

• If Zelensky's archetypal overseas question is to Washington — 300 days aft Russian hitmen parachuted into Kyiv successful a failed effort to assassinate him — it volition nonstop a almighty awesome that U.S. enactment for Ukraine is working.
• Congress is poised to walk $45 cardinal successful additional subject and economical assistance to Ukraine this week arsenic portion of its $1.7 trillion omnibus backing bill, bringing full U.S. assistance to implicit $100 billion.

Driving the news: While the details are not yet finalized, U.S. Capitol Police is beefing up information for a imaginable Wednesday visit, aggregate elder enactment sources archer Axios.

• CNN reports President Biden is besides readying to big Zelensky astatine the White House, and that the sojourn volition coincide with an announcement that the U.S. is sending Patriot rocket systems to Ukraine.
• Punchbowl News first reported connected the planned visit.
• The travel is babelike connected security, per different root familiar.

Between the lines: The incoming House Republican bulk has expressed heavy reservations astir continuing to nonstop assistance to Ukraine.

• Zelensky's sojourn would springiness him the accidental to conscionable personally with immoderate of his skeptics — oregon astatine the precise slightest GOP enactment — to person them that U.S. assistance is captious and being utilized responsibly.
• With Hanukkah underway and Christmas approaching, Ukraine is suffering from massive powerfulness outages caused by Russian strikes connected civilian infrastructure. An affectional entreaty by Zelensky could chopped done to lawmakers arsenic they hole to permission municipality for the holidays.

Flashback: When Zelensky addressed a associated session of Congress virtually backmost successful March, helium summoned immoderate of the darkest days successful U.S. past — including Pearl Harbor and 9/11 — successful his plea for greater assistance.

• For galore Americans, the calamity successful Ukraine has receded into the inheritance arsenic warring rages connected with nary extremity successful sight.
• For Zelensky, thing other matters: Just today, helium made a astonishment trip to the besieged metropolis of Bakhmut to manus retired awards to troops progressive successful 1 of the war's fiercest battles.