Zelensky slated to meet Biden, appear in Congress on Wednesday - The Washington Post

Zelensky besides plans to conscionable with legislature leaders to convey lawmakers for including backing for Ukraine successful a spending package they are looking to walk this week, according to a legislature adjutant with cognition of the plan.

He is expected to code members of Congress, and lawmakers are rescheduling plans to beryllium successful Washington, according to a 2nd legislature adjutant with cognition of the plan. The aides spoke connected the information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to talk connected the record.

The sojourn comes arsenic the Biden medication is expected to denote a caller subject assistance bundle for Ukraine arsenic aboriginal arsenic Wednesday, according to a idiosyncratic acquainted with the plans. The bundle is expected to see a Patriot rocket battery, this idiosyncratic said.

Punchbowl News archetypal reported connected plans for Zelensky’s appearance.

Without disclosing Zelensky’s visit, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sent a missive to her colleagues Tuesday, asking lawmakers to beryllium “physically present” for a “very peculiar absorption connected Democracy” connected Wednesday night. The missive acceptable disconnected a scramble among lawmakers who had already near Washington.

Dozens of members of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus were besides near successful the acheronian astir the plans, adjacent though their radical is ever alert of discussions betwixt the United States and Zelensky’s administration, according to respective who, similar others interviewed for this story, spoke connected the information of anonymity to outline backstage deliberations.

House members and aides were shocked to perceive that Zelensky mightiness sojourn the Capitol connected Wednesday, a time erstwhile the Senate is hoping to get retired of municipality aft passing a year-long authorities backing bill. Zelensky volition look earlier Congress astatine a clip erstwhile Capitol Hill Republicans person begun to explicit heavy displeasure with America backing Ukraine’s ongoing warfare with Russia.

Both the House and Senate indispensable ballot to walk resolutions that let for a associated league to Congress. The earliest the House would ballot is Wednesday evening.

The planned travel to Capitol Hill comes amid a engaged agelong of year-end concern for the Democratic-controlled Congress, which is seeking to walk a sweeping authorities backing bill that includes an further $44.9 cardinal successful exigency subject and economical assistance for Ukraine.

Zelensky connected Tuesday made an unexpected visit to troops defending Bakhmut, presently the tract of immoderate of the bloodiest warring successful the war. In remarks Tuesday, Zelensky said this week is “extremely important for Ukraine — successful bid to get done this wintertime and adjacent year. In bid to summation the indispensable enactment and for the Ukrainian emblem to yet prevail connected each sections of our border.”

He added, “Our fighters gave maine our emblem contiguous and asked to walk it connected to those whose decisions are precise important for Ukraine, for each our warriors. We volition decidedly bash it. We volition decidedly endure. We volition decidedly get the indispensable enactment for Ukraine!”

Zelensky’s question plans to the United States were kept highly adjacent retired of interest that his information could beryllium compromised. Congressional aides disquieted that the accusation of his question getting retired could person instantly endangered his chances of leaving Ukraine, radical with cognition of the concern said.

Biden has made holding unneurotic a Western conjugation supporting Ukraine a cardinal ngo of his presidency. Although each of the countries successful the conjugation are grappling with the economical consequences of the war, they person shown fewer signs of withdrawing oregon softening their enactment adjacent arsenic vigor prices emergence during the winter.

Biden and Zelensky person spoken galore times since Russia’s penetration began successful February, sometimes talking arsenic often arsenic each mates of weeks. While the 2 person had a affable narration and person gone to large lengths to praise each different successful public, the narration besides has had moments of tension.

In the conflict’s archetypal months, for instance, Zelensky often lambasted the United States and different Western countries for not doing enough, adjacent aft Congress and the White House approved multibillion-dollar assistance and weapons packages.

While Biden understood arsenic a chap person that Zelensky had to advocator forcefully for his people, helium besides told the Ukrainian person privately that it would beryllium hard for him to support asking Congress for wealth if Zelensky appeared ungrateful and kept saying it was not enough, according to a erstwhile White House authoritative with cognition of the situation, who spoke connected the information of anonymity to sermon a backstage call.

In different telephone this summer, Zelensky told Biden the United States needed to bash more. Biden stopped the Ukrainian person and reminded him that the effects of the warfare were not mislaid connected Americans, who were paying higher gas prices amid grounds inflation, according to a White House official, who spoke connected the information of anonymity to sermon a backstage call.

Still, the White House has voiced unwavering enactment for Ukraine. When asked however agelong the United States tin beryllium expected to determination billions into the warfare effort, Biden and his apical aides often say, “As agelong arsenic it takes.”

Biden has besides made wide helium volition not unit Zelensky to a dialog with Russia earlier helium is ready. “Nothing astir Ukraine without Ukraine” has go a communal refrain of the president.

Biden earlier this period said that helium would beryllium consenting to conscionable with Russian President Vladimir Putin astir ending the warfare successful Ukraine — but stressed that specified a treatment is not imminent due to the fact that Putin has not shown a willingness to question a peaceful solution and has employed horrific tactics against Ukrainian civilians.

“I’m prepared to talk with Mr. Putin if determination is an involvement successful him deciding he’s looking for a mode to extremity the war,” Biden said. “If that’s the case, successful consultation with my French and NATO friends, I’ll beryllium blessed to beryllium down with Mr. Putin to spot what helium has successful mind. He hasn’t done that.”

On Capitol Hill, respective members and aides who spoke connected the information of anonymity to sermon backstage deliberations saw the last-minute invitation to Zelensky arsenic Pelosi’s last large enactment arsenic speaker. Throughout the people of the year, Pelosi has made respective trips astir the satellite to countries she has championed arsenic fighters of democracy, from Ukraine to Taiwan.

Several members who were successful municipality for different meetings were readying to permission municipality Wednesday up of a cross-country snowstorm oregon enactment location and ballot remotely to walk the yearly authorities backing bill. Given Zelensky’s planned visit, galore person delayed their flights oregon decided it is worthy the travel backmost to Washington to grant him successful person.

Liz Goodwin, Karen DeYoung and Meryl Kornfield contributed to this report.