Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena Zelenska were received on September 21 in the South Glade of the White House by US President Joe Biden and US First Lady Jill Biden, UNIAN reported. The arrival of the Zelenskyy couple to the White House was broadcasted by the US TV channels CBS News and CNN.
The presidents and their wives exchanged short congratulations, took a joint photo as a souvenir, and then proceeded to the White House. The program of the meeting between Biden and Zelenskyy provided for bilateral communication between them for 35 minutes, and then the meeting continued in an extended format.
Biden, at the beginning of the meeting in the Oval Office, said that “no state can be reliably defended in the world unless, in fact, we stand up and defend Ukraine’s freedom in the face of Russian brutality and aggression”.
In this regard, the US President added that for this reason a coalition of more than 50 countries has been brought together to provide Ukraine with critical self-defense assistance. The US President emphasized that the Ukrainian people have shown tremendous courage and inspired the world and the American people together with allies and partners are full to do everything possible to help Ukraine in its defense.
Zelensky responded by saying that Ukraine “greatly appreciates the vital assistance provided by the United States to help Ukraine fight Russian terror”, and added that he came to Washington to “strengthen our ability to protect Ukrainian children, our families, our homes, freedom and democracy in the world”. He recalled that he began his visit to the US capital with meetings in Congress to thank members of the House of Representatives, senators and the American people for their tremendous support. It is there that the issue of funding support for Ukraine is being decided.
Biden is asking the US Congress to approve additional funding for Ukraine in the amount of 24bn dollars.
At the talks, the conversation will be about weapons, everything will be discussed with a focus on air defense systems. According to Jake Sullivan, the US President’s National Security Advisor, the new US military aid package for Ukraine that Biden will announce will contain “significant air defense capabilities”. Sullivan predicts that
Ukraine will face “a harsh winter filled with new Russian attacks on critical infrastructure” that must be fought off.
