‘UKRAINE IS ALIVE AND KICKING,’ ZELENSKYY TELLS U.S. CONGRESS

Thu 22 December 2022:

The president of Ukraine addressed the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, thanking it for its financial support while emphasizing that it is “not charity” but rather “an investment.”

“Your money is not charity. It is an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the joint session.

“Thank you for both financial packages you have already provided us with and the ones you may be willing to decide on,” he said.

Earlier in the day, President Joe Biden held a joint press conference with Zelenskyy at the White House, during which he announced a $1.85 billion military aid package for Ukraine, including a Patriot missile defense system.

“Ukraine didn’t fall,” Zelenskyy stressed during his address to Congress. “Ukraine is alive and kicking.”

He said their battle is not only for “territory,” “freedom” and “security” for Ukrainians but for “any other nation.”

“The world is too interconnected and interdependent to allow someone to stay aside and at the same time to feel safe when such a battle continues,” he said.

Recalling his unexpected visit to the city of Bakhmut in the embattled eastern Donetsk region Tuesday, he said the Russian military and mercenaries have been attacking the city since May.

“They have been attacking it day and night, but Bakhmut stands,” he said.

Zelenskyy said that Russia has a “significant advantage” in artillery and ammunition, “but our defense forces stand.”

Underlining once again that his country will not surrender, he told U.S. lawmakers that their support is “crucial not just to stand in such fight but to get to the turning point to win on the battlefield.”

“We have artillery. Yes. Thank you. We have it. Is it enough? Honestly, not really,” he said.

More cannons and shells are needed to make the Russian army completely pull out, Zelenskyy added.

“Ukraine never asked American soldiers to fight on our land instead of us. I assure you that Ukrainian soldiers can perfectly operate American tanks and planes themselves,” he said.

He also mentioned Iranian drones sent to Russia, which “became a threat to our critical infrastructure.”

Zelenskyy also said a U.S. promise to provide the Patriot surface-to-air missile defense system was an important step in creating an effective air shield.

“This is the only way that we can deprive the terrorist state of its main instrument of terror – the possibility to hit our cities, our energy,” Zelenskyy told a White House news conference, standing next to U.S. President Joe Biden.

The Patriot system is “a defensive system, it’s not escalatory, it’s defensive” Biden told reporters. “We’d love not to have them used, just stop the attacks.”

Zelenskyy and other senior Ukrainian officials have long pleaded with allies to provide more anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems to help counter Russian missile strikes against power generating plants and other critical infrastructure.

Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken had earlier said the United States would provide $1.85 billion in additional military assistance for Ukraine, including a transfer of the Patriot Air Defense System.

The Patriot is considered to be one of the most advanced U.S. air defense systems and offers protection against aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles. It typically includes launchers along with radar and other support vehicles.

The United States has sent about $50 billion in assistance to the Kyiv government as it defends itself against an invasion by Russia that began 10 months ago.

Zelenskyy departed his country on Wednesday for the first time since the war with Russia began 10 months ago to consult with President Joe Biden and U.S. lawmakers in Washington.

Prior to his address to the U.S. Congress, he met Biden at the White House, where he held a joint press conference.

Following his speech in Congress, Zelenskyy presented U.S. lawmakers with a Ukrainian flag.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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