Zelensky’s US Visit Lifts Spirits During Cold Winter for Ukraine: Live Updates - The New York Times

KYIV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelensky was returning to Ukraine connected Thursday aft a high-profile sojourn to Washington that was greeted astatine location with mostly pridefulness and anticipation that his impassioned, in-person appeals would support American weapons and fiscal enactment flowing.

Amid the acheronian and acold from Russian rocket strikes that person knocked retired powerfulness for millions of radical arsenic wintertime sets successful — and aft weeks of stalemate on overmuch of the beforehand enactment — the astonishment statesmanlike travel buoyed morale successful Ukraine. Some Ukrainians said that they were cheered to spot members of Congress chant during Mr. Zelensky’s quality the patriotic greeting, “Glory to heroes!”

“Friends, everything volition beryllium fine, Ukraine volition beryllium fine, we volition beryllium fixed everything, we volition beryllium helped,” Valeriy Tryhub, a skis instructor, wrote successful a station connected Facebook.

Reached by telephone later, Mr. Tryhub said that helium had stayed up until 2:30 a.m. to ticker Mr. Zelensky’s code to a associated league of Congress, wherever the Ukrainian president received lasting ovations and presented Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a Ukrainian emblem that had been signed by soldiers.

“This is, without exaggeration, an humanities event,” helium said of Mr. Zelensky’s visit, his archetypal travel overseas since Russia’s penetration successful February.

“We now, much than ever, request satellite enactment successful the conflict for independence,” Mr. Tryhub added. “The United States is 1 of the galore countries that yet realized that without overseas support, we cannot win. So we request help, particularly since we person communal values ​​such arsenic ideology and freedom.”

On his mode backmost from Washington, Mr. Zelensky landed connected Thursday successful Poland, wherever he said that helium met with President Andrzej Duda. He was returning to Ukraine with astatine slightest 1 tangible gain: an further $1.8 cardinal successful subject assistance announced Wednesday including a Patriot rocket battery, 1 of the astir precocious aerial defence systems.

But transition successful Congress of an omnibus spending bill, which includes an further astir $50 cardinal successful backing for Ukraine, was delayed connected Wednesday nighttime due to the fact that of an impasse implicit migration policy.

Still, it was a mostly triumphant visit, planned successful stealth, for Mr. Zelensky, a erstwhile comedic histrion who was elected successful a landslide successful 2019 but whose popularity was slumping earlier Russia launched its full-scale penetration successful February. Mr. Zelensky remained successful Kyiv adjacent though the superior seemed astir to fall, and astir Ukrainians rapidly acceptable speech authorities to rally astir their president.

“My full life, I ne'er imagined the president of Ukraine would beryllium addressing Congress,” Tetiana Bisyk, a writer, tweeted connected Thursday, adding: “I americium truthful arrogant to beryllium Ukrainian.”

Artur Bilous, a governmental analyst, wrote connected Facebook that portion “no Ukrainian president was ever greeted similar this” successful Washington, Mr. Zelensky’s travel would yet beryllium gauged a occurrence if it helps velocity up the travel of weaponry.

“In particular, however rapidly subject assistance volition beryllium delivered, archetypal of each the Patriot aerial defence system,” Mr. Bilous wrote.

Overall, the absorption successful Ukraine was 1 of pridefulness and anticipation — and continued defiance toward Russia.

“Putin, I anticipation you are watching this existent time,” Kira Rudik, a subordinate of Ukraine’s Parliament, posted connected Twitter, addressing President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. “We. Will. Win.”

Maria Varenikova contributed reporting from Kyiv.

BERLIN — A subordinate of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service has been arrested connected suspicion of spying for Russia and is being charged with treason, nationalist prosecutors said connected Thursday.

Germany’s national nationalist authoritative said successful its connection that the suspect, identified arsenic “Carsten L.” nether German privateness laws, was accused of “passing connected accusation helium had obtained successful the people of his nonrecreational activities to a Russian quality service.”

On Thursday, a national justice approved keeping the suspect successful custody. He was arrested past week, but German authorities person released fewer details. The caput of the Federal Intelligence Service, Bruno Kahl, said successful a connection that releasing much accusation would “offer an vantage to an adversary with the volition of harming Germany.”

The probe comes aft a drawstring of arrests crossed Europe of others accused of being Russian spies. Most of the cases impact radical who prosecutors accidental embedded successful an enactment oregon assemblage to alteration semipermanent espionage oregon recruitment.

Last month, Norwegian authorities announced they had arrested a antheral posing arsenic a Brazilian world astatine a assemblage connected charges of gathering quality for Russia. In June, an intern astatine the International Criminal Court, besides with a Brazilian passport, was arrested successful The Hague and charged with spying for Russia. In precocious November, a Swedish raid caught a Russian mates who were accused of espionage. And earlier this week, Austrian investigators arrested a Greek nonmigratory of Vienna connected suspicion of espionage for Russia.

The apprehension successful Germany whitethorn beryllium unusual, however, successful that the accused mole was recovered wrong the country’s ain quality agency, raising the hazard that contacts and informants wrong Russia whitethorn person been betrayed.

Federal prosecutors said successful a connection they searched the suspect’s location and workplace.

Mr. Kahl, the BND president, described Russia arsenic an histrion “whose unscrupulousness and willingness to usage unit we person to reckon with.”

A fig of different Russian spies, who were not undercover agents but officially worked for quality services, person been rounded up and expelled successful caller years, perchance making Russia much reliant connected sleeper agents, particularly arsenic the Kremlin’s warfare effort successful Ukraine has faltered. Security analysts successful Europe accidental the arrests person besides made Moscow propulsion much aggressively for quality from its remaining sources.

Germany’s past lawsuit of a treble cause was successful 2014, erstwhile a subordinate of the quality services was enactment successful situation for 8 years for espionage, mostly for passing accusation to the C.I.A., and for offering himself to Russian concealed services.

— Erika Solomon

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s melodramatic sojourn to Washington has provoked a crisp and often affectional effect successful Russia, wherever some the Kremlin and talking heads connected state-run quality shows person formed it arsenic a cynical public-relations stunt that shows Ukraine’s dependence connected the United States.

Speaking with reporters connected Thursday, Dmitri S. Peskov, President Vladimir V. Putin’s spokesman, said that Mr. Zelensky’s travel showcased the United States’ committedness to a argumentation of warring Russia “until the past Ukrainian.”

Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to Washington, said the visit — which included a committedness by the Biden medication of much subject instrumentality for Ukraine, including a long-sought Patriot air-defense system — confirmed that Washington has been waging a “proxy war” against Russia utilizing “enormous resources, weapons, quality capabilities.”

As the Russian Army has suffered large setbacks successful the warfare — often due to the fact that of rampant corruption and inefficiency — the country’s officials and its immense propaganda instrumentality person begun to stress that Moscow is not lone warring Kyiv, but besides waging an existential warfare against a conjugation of Western states bent connected destroying Russia.

That prevailing communicative made the show connected Wednesday of Washington’s continued enactment for Ukraine excessively achy to ticker for immoderate pro-Kremlin commentators.

On Wednesday, arsenic Mr. Zelensky’s sojourn was inactive unfolding, Vladimir Solovyov, the big of the main governmental speech amusement connected Russia’s authorities tv network, Rossiya-1, could not fell his emotions. Speaking astir Mr. Zelensky’s associated quality league with President Biden, Mr. Solovyov said that it had made him “feel hatred.”

“A petty demon came to spot aged Satan,” Mr. Solovyov said.

Other commentators successful the workplace ridiculed Mr. Zelensky’s outfit — a unit cervix sweatshirt and cargo pants successful his trademark subject greenish — and halting English, and said that the mode helium had traveled to Washington proved his presumption arsenic America’s stooge.

“A feline successful a rumpled greenish sweater, who is called president of an autarkic sovereign state, flew successful an American level to an American aerial base,” said Rodion Miroshnik, a pro-Kremlin analyst.

Some panelists connected the speech amusement sought to absorption connected Mr. Putin’s gathering connected Wednesday with apical subject commanders successful which the Russian person acknowledged the army’s shortcomings but pledged to proviso his forces with everything they request to prevail successful Ukraine.

“We person seen a reset,” said Vladislav Shyrygin, a hawkish journalist. “We saw our strength.”

In his dramatic, daylong sojourn to Washington, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine sought to bring the sounds and smells of the war’s beforehand lines to the determination makers successful White House and the Congress, who helium said had the quality to velocity up Ukraine’s triumph and bring the warfare to an end.

“Every inch of that onshore is soaked successful blood; roaring guns dependable each hour,” helium said of Bakhmut successful the country’s east, wherever his service is holding crushed successful one of the bloodiest campaigns of the war. “The Russians’ maneuver is primitive. They pain down and destruct everything they see.”

While enactment for Ukraine has wide enactment successful Congress, immoderate Republican lawmakers person been outspoken astir their absorption to sending much wealth abroad. While it was not instantly wide if Mr. Zelensky’s pleas had changed immoderate of their minds, helium did instrumentality location astatine slightest 1 important boost: a pledge to proviso Ukraine with an precocious Patriot air-defense system, which volition amended Ukraine’s quality to antagonistic the missiles and drones that Russia fires astatine the nation’s vigor infrastructure, deepening the suffering of civilians arsenic temperatures dip during the winter.

“If your Patriots halt the Russian panic against our cities, it volition fto Ukrainian patriots enactment to the afloat to support our freedom,” the Ukrainian person said successful his code to Congress. “When Russia cannot scope our cities by its artillery, it tries to destruct them with rocket attacks.”

The trip, a risky gambit coordinated successful stealth, was besides a projection of spot and assurance amid the regular blare of air-raid sirens from Russian attacks and persistent powerfulness outages.

“Each connection was charged with Ukraine’s overwhelming vigor and spirit,” Ukraine’s overseas minister, Dmytro Kuleba, wrote connected Twitter. “May it animate millions of radical successful the U.S. and astir the globe to support what we each clasp dear: freedom.”

President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus, Russia’s closest ally, tried connected Thursday to defuse suspicions that caller subject moves wrong his state could presage a caller crushed violative aimed astatine Ukraine.

Speaking a military conference, Mr. Lukashenko dismissed arsenic “conspiracy theories” caller speculation from immoderate Ukrainian officials that a abruptly announced cheque of combat readiness could beryllium a precursor to a deployment of Belarusian equipped forces to assistance Russia.

While insisting that the exercises, which also progressive thousands of Russian troops, were constricted to his country’s territory, helium raised the anticipation that Belarus could astatine immoderate constituent beryllium pulled into the warring successful Ukraine.

“If you privation peace, hole for war,” Mr. Lukashenko said. “We person been conducting exercises,” helium added, referring to associated exercises with Russia that person scaled up successful caller weeks successful effect to what the Belarusian person described arsenic the “current concern and threats.”

The comments came days aft Vladimir V. Putin of Russia visited Belarus to fortify ties with Mr. Lukashenko, raising fears among Ukraine and its Western allies that a caller Russian crushed offensive could purpose again astatine Kyiv, astir 55 miles southbound of the Belarusian border.

Mr. Lukashenko is simply a adjacent state of Mr. Putin, successful portion due to the fact that Belarus depends connected Moscow for substance and security. And though Mr. Lukashenko has resisted being drawn much centrally into the warfare since February, erstwhile Russia utilized eastbound Belarus arsenic a staging crushed for its full-scale penetration of Ukraine, helium has travel nether expanding unit from Moscow.

The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, this week dismissed speculations that Belarus would go straight progressive successful the struggle arsenic “totally stupid” and “groundless fabrications.”

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based probe group, has said that Russia is improbable to found a caller onslaught unit successful Belarus. It is much probable, the radical has said, that the flurry of subject enactment is portion of a broader effort to divert Kyiv’s troops from the beforehand enactment successful eastbound and confederate of Ukraine.

But intensifying unit from Moscow is limiting Mr. Lukashenko’s “maneuver country to debar making concessions to the Kremlin,” the institute said connected Tuesday. It besides said that Mr. Putin “gave” his state an unspecified fig of S-400 aerial defence systems during his sojourn to Minsk this week, a determination that the Belarusian person had rejected successful caller years. The aerial defence systems volition apt beryllium operated by Russian troops based successful Belarus, the radical said.

“Lukashenko is apt delaying acceding to Putin’s larger demands — specified arsenic committing Belarusian forces to articulation the penetration against Ukraine — by making smaller concessions that helium has stonewalled for years,” the radical said.

Artillery shells person deed a edifice successful the Russian-occupied metropolis of Donetsk successful eastbound Ukraine, leaving 2 radical dormant and others injured, Russian officials and the state-run quality media said connected Thursday. Among those wounded was the outspoken erstwhile caput of Russia’s abstraction agency, who said helium had been struck by shrapnel during a moving meeting.

Dmitry Rogozin, the former main of Russia’s Roscosmos who is simply a salient backer of President Vladimir V. Putin’s penetration of Ukraine, said successful a station connected the Telegram messaging app that helium was deed successful his enarthrosis connected Wednesday evening and that helium would acquisition surgery. “Several different radical adjacent to maine were besides injured,” helium said.

Mr. Rogozin, a erstwhile Russian lawman premier curate who has subjected to sanctions by the United States, has been operating arsenic a subject advisor successful the region, according to Interfax, a Russian quality agency.

Mr. Putin dismissed him arsenic the caput of Roscosmos successful July aft Mr. Rogozin made belligerent pronouncements for months successful the Russian quality media and connected his Twitter and Telegram accounts. He sharply criticized Western sanctions against Russia implicit its penetration of Ukraine, and publically urged the Russian authorities to leave the International Space Station.

On Thursday, Mr. Rogozin said that helium and his colleagues had been staying astatine the edifice successful Donetsk for respective months and that “someone leaked information” astir their whereabouts. RIA Novosti, a Russian authorities quality agency, released what it said was a video from the country that showed a edifice with humor stains connected the level and scattered debris. The video could not beryllium independently verified.

Russian investigators said that attacks had been carried retired by Ukrainian forces utilizing precision-guided munitions. Denis Pushilin, the caput of the Donetsk Peoples Republic, the self-proclaimed entity controlled by Russia, said that 2 radical had died, according to RIA Novosti.

Ukrainian officials did not remark straight connected the attack. But the country’s borderline work issued a connection connected Telegram that obliquely took work for the shelling, saying that Mr. Rogozin had illegally crossed into Ukrainian territory and that “caring comrades” had notified him of that portion helium was celebrating his birthday.

Donetsk is 1 of 4 Ukrainian regions that Mr. Putin illegally annexed successful September, adjacent though Russia does not afloat power immoderate of them. Russian attacks person turned the Donetsk portion into a “hell,” President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said past month.

Asked astir the episode, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said that the portion “is inactive unsafe and carries large risks, including risks to life.”

“But this does not mean that these conditions should forestall officials from performing their functions,” helium said, “and radical who are determination being called by their hearts should fulfill their missions.”

Germany and France, some allies of Ukraine, person greeted President Volodymyr Zelensky’s reception successful Washington arsenic a motion of continuing beardown enactment from crossed the Atlantic, but besides arsenic a accidental to bespeak connected the grade of their ain backing for the state arsenic Kyiv faces a warfare with nary extremity successful sight.

The United States has been Ukraine’s biggest supporter, with the American concern successful the warfare against Russia expected to magnitude to much than $100 cardinal this year. The sojourn offered grounds that Washington’s backing would stay steadfast, though an American promise of Patriot missiles to Ukraine besides raised the unit connected Europe for much extended subject aid.

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmerman, the chairwoman of the defence committee successful Germany’s Parliament, said it was a alleviation to spot that rivalries betwixt Republicans and Democrats had not undermined the United States’ backing of the war.

“It was an incredibly important awesome to each Ukrainians warring for their survival, but besides a precise almighty motion to Europe, that the United States is lasting by Europe,” Ms. Strack-Zimmerman said.

The German chancellery, portion besides welcoming the visit, was little effusive, a apt reflection of a statement wrong the state implicit whether to present Leopard 2 combatant tanks to Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his party, the Social Democrats, stay mostly resistant to taking that step, portion the 2 different parties successful his governing conjugation person pushed for much robust subject assistance to Kyiv.

The chancellery argues that delivering dense tanks would beryllium a provocative measurement that increases the hazard of confrontation betwixt NATO and Russia. Steffen Hebestreit, a spokesperson for Mr. Scholz, called Mr. Zelensky’s sojourn to Washington a “hopeful sign,” though not a “game changer.” The question of delivering tanks, helium said, “is being continuously reassessed.”

Ms. Strack-Zimmerman, a subordinate of the Free Democratic Party, 1 of Mr. Scholz’s conjugation partners, said that “when it comes to this war, we successful Germany person ever been down the curve.” She added, “I anticipation we volition nonstop the Leopard 2s.”

In France, the sojourn was wide viewed arsenic historic, with Mr. Zelensky described arsenic having been welcomed arsenic a hero. “It’s a existent amusement of force,” Dominique de Villepin, France’s erstwhile overseas curate from 2002 to 2004, told France Inter radio connected Thursday.

Pierre Haski, a salient commentator connected planetary affairs for France Inter, said successful his regular file connected Thursday that Mr. Zelensky seemed intent connected shoring up American support.

“Many voices lamented yesterday that Zelensky is going to Washington for his archetypal travel abroad, and not to a European capital,” Mr. Haski said. “But let’s beryllium honest, portion Europe has not proved unworthy implicit the past 10 months, it had neither the means nor, supra all, the indispensable governmental coherence to warrant assistance to Ukraine.”

President Emmanuel Macron, returning to France precocious Wednesday from a travel to Jordan, told reporters onboard the statesmanlike level that the Ukrainian leader’s sojourn was a “good thing,” according to Le Monde newspaper.

“The United States are doing a batch from a subject and fiscal standpoint,” Mr. Macron said, according to Le Monde. “Europe is besides doing a lot, and we are intimately coordinating.”

Mr. Macron — who had been criticized by immoderate allies, particularly successful Eastern Europe, for calling for Russia to beryllium included successful a caller “stability order” successful Europe — reiterated his enactment for a Ukrainian victory. He repeated that it was up to Ukraine to determine erstwhile to participate into talks with Russia, Le Monde reported.

WASHINGTON — At the opening of the warfare successful Ukraine, the Biden medication was cautious astir providing weapons to Kyiv, lest it look that the United States was driving the Ukrainian effort. U.S. officials would not adjacent accidental the connection “Stingers” publicly.

Even successful precocious March, the medication was reluctant to corroborate that the shoulder-fired Stinger missiles it was supplying were helping Ukrainian troops sprout down Russian helicopters, for fearfulness of crossing President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia’s reddish lines.

Things person changed. With Wednesday’s announcement that the United States would nonstop a Patriot artillery to Ukraine, the scope of weapons that President Biden has signed disconnected connected present includes 1 of America’s astir precocious aerial defence systems, susceptible of shooting down Russian ballistic missiles.

Closing successful connected $22 cardinal this year, the U.S. subject packages to Ukraine person truthful acold not included combatant jets. But the Biden medication has decided to nonstop precocious Joint Direct Attack Munitions kits, which tin beryllium fitted onto Ukraine’s ain combatant jets to let for much precision-guided strikes.

Then determination are the HIMARS.

In September, arsenic Ukrainian troops were beating backmost Russia and reclaiming territory successful the east, the Pentagon acknowledged that they were utilizing U.S.-made M142 HIMARS precocious rocket launchers to bash so.

The HIMARS, abbreviated for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, is fundamentally a motortruck that tin occurrence guided rockets. In aboriginal June, the United States added HIMARS to the exponentially increasing database of weapons it was sending Ukraine, which by past besides included howitzers and 155 millimeter shells.

The weapons person been truthful effectual that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine gave President Biden, during a fireside chat astatine the White House connected Wednesday, a medal that helium said was from the Ukrainian skipper of a portion operating a HIMARS artillery successful the frontline metropolis of Bakhmut.

“He asked maine to walk his grant to President Biden,” Mr. Zelensky said. “You volition understand. He is skipper of HIMARS battery.” At that, Mr. Biden punched his fist into the air.

Ukrainian troops person figured retired however to marque the astir of the American-supplied weapons, utilizing them successful unexpected ways, officials say. A elder Pentagon authoritative said that Ukrainian forces had enactment American-supplied HARM anti-radiation missiles onto Soviet-era MIG-29 combatant jets — thing that nary aerial unit had ever done.

The HARM missiles, which Pentagon officials acknowledged sending to Ukraine lone aft photos of them successful the tract showed up online, are designed to question and destruct Russian aerial defence radar. They are not usually compatible with the MIG-29 oregon Ukraine’s different combatant jets.

At the opening of the war, the United States and NATO pushed thousands of antitank weapons, including Javelin missiles, implicit the borders of Poland and Romania into Ukraine. They were unloaded them from elephantine subject cargo planes to marque the travel by onshore to Kyiv and different large cities. Since then, that travel has accrued and present includes Cougar Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles, armored inferior trucks, precision aerial munitions and grenade launchers and tiny arms.

U.S. subject assistance to Ukraine is not constricted to weapons. The United States has besides trained Ukrainian troops, mostly successful Germany, connected however to usage immoderate of the systems being provided. And since the commencement of the war, the American quality assemblage has provided Ukraine with real-time battlefield intelligence.