A last-ditch plea: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held more meetings in Washington on Tuesday to prevent the United States from cutting its military aid, vital to the Ukrainian war effort. Follow his press conference live from the White House with his American counterpart Joe Biden, from 10 p.m. (Paris time).
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For the third time in a year, the Ukrainian leader walked the corridors of the American Congress, this time the scene of very tense negotiations around additional aid for kyiv.
In a black sweater with a trident, the emblem of Ukraine, and khaki pants, Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded his case before elected representatives of the Senate, an institution run by the Democratic Party of President Joe Biden, favorable to his cause .
Then in front of members of the House of Representatives, controlled by the Republicans, and where opposition to new military aid to kyiv is the strongest.
According to the head of the House, Republican Mike Johnson, the arrival of the Ukrainian president has not removed the doubts of the conservative camp.
“What the Biden administration seems to want is billions of additional dollars without adequate supervision, without any real victory strategy,” he asserted after his interview with Volodymyr Zelensky, confirming the Republicans’ reluctance to approve a new envelope of 61 billion dollars for Ukraine, requested by the White House.
Read alsoWithout American funding, “we will not see the same war” in Ukraine
The head of the Democratic majority in the Senate, the other chamber of Congress, insisted on the challenges of aid to Ukraine.
“If we lose, Putin will win, and that will be very dangerous for the United States,” said Chuck Schumer after seeing Volodymyr Zelensky, and while Russia claims “significant” military advances in the Zaporizhia region, in the southern Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian army, Russia is increasing attacks all along the front, which stretches over some 1,000 kilometers, and Vladimir Putin has for his part been proud of the progress of his army in recent days. Conversely, kyiv’s major summer offensive failed.
With AFP
