Wed 21 December 2022:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the US capital Wednesday for meetings with President Joe Biden and to address a joint session of Congress.
His trip marks his first abroad since Russia began its war against his country 10 months ago. Zelenskyy touched down Wednesday afternoon after flying to the US from his native Ukraine.
“It’s good to have you back,” President Joe Biden told him in the Oval Office at the start of what were expected to be lengthy talks about the path forward in Ukraine. “It’s an honor to be by your side in the united defense against what is a brutal, brutal war that is being waged by Putin.”
“The Ukrainian people continue to inspire the world,” Biden went on. “I mean that sincerely – not just inspire us, but inspire the world with their courage.”
Ukrainian soldier’s medal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave his US counterpart Joe Biden a soldier’s medal at the start of a visit to Washington.
“I want to give you something from a man who is really a hero,” Zelensky said addressing Biden in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday, handing him the medal.
The Ukrainian soldier had asked Zelensky to pass the award on to Biden, he said. “He’s very brave and he said, give it to a very brave president.”
Biden thanked him. “Undeserved, but very much appreciated,” he said.
The United States will provide $1.85 billion in additional military assistance for Ukraine, including a transfer of the Patriot Air Defense System, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Wednesday.
Over the course of the 10-month invasion, Zelensky has emerged as the international personification of Ukrainian resistance and has spent much of the year appealing to nations for support. He has remained inside his country for the duration of the war, a reflection both of his desire to rally alongside his besieged country and the precarious security situation he would face outside Ukraine.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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