The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is scheduled to travel to Washington on Wednesday (Dec. 21), according to American media. This will be his first journey outside of Europe since Russia invaded the country in February.
Members of Congress were informed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday in a letter to attend the event the following night. She simply said, "Please be present for a very special focus on democracy Wednesday night."
According to the sources, the probable White House meeting may include Biden's anticipated presentation of a new military package for Kyiv that includes Patriot missiles. Zelenskyy has spoken frequently to leaders and supporters throughout the world, but only by phone and video conference. Zelenskyy has led without rest for ten months of harsh battle with invading Russian forces.
With an estimated $50 billion in total aid already given, including around $20 billion in security assistance, the U.S. has been the war effort's most significant backer, as evidenced by his scheduled trip. Zelenskyy described the war-torn city as a frontline "fortress" when speaking to Ukrainian forces on Tuesday in Bakhmut, which is currently the scene of intense fighting.
Large areas of the city and its surrounds have been leveled by the savage trench fighting and artillery conflicts that have surrounded Bakhmut, which was formerly noted for its vineyards and vast salt mines.
While presenting awards to Ukrainian service members, Zelenskyy declared, "This is not just Bakhmut, this is fortress Bakhmut." Zelenskyy told his troops, "here in Donbas, you're protecting all of Ukraine ... They will do everything they've done here in other towns of our country because they don't want anything Ukrainian to exist, I'm sure of that".
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated this week that the situation was "extremely difficult" in a number of Ukrainian provinces that Moscow claims to have seized but does not have military control. He declared the annexation of four Ukrainian areas in the east and south in September after Moscow's proxies staged sham elections there, which Kyiv and the West denounced as fraudulent.
A months-long Ukrainian counteroffensive last month prompted Russian troops to withdraw from the Kherson region's regional capital, which they had never fully controlled. Moscow intensified its aircraft effort to target Ukraine's electrical grid this summer and autumn in response to a string of setbacks and territory losses this summer and fall.
As a harsh winter drew in, missile and drone attacks cut off water and heat supplies to millions of Ukrainians and plunged cities across the nation into darkness.
