Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky delivered a virtual address to the US Congress on Wednesday.in the midst of intense Russian bombing against his country.
(Read here: Moscow and kyiv see progress in the negotiations, although not on all issues)
The president’s words come three weeks after the invasion launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine and amid bombing attacks on the capital, kyiv.
The video that the president showed
During his appearance, the Ukrainian leader showed a video showing the Russian bombing of the country.
Zelensky compares the war in Ukraine to 9/11 in the US.
The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, assured this Wednesday before the US Congress that the “terror” that his country is experiencing “is something that Europe has not seen in 80 years” and called for new sanctions against all Russian politicians.
“Remember September 11. Ukraine is experiencing this every day. A terror that Europe has not seen in 80 years,” Zelensky said in a virtual address to the US Congress, which received him with a standing ovation.
The president calls for a no-fly zone
Zelensky again asked the US Congress on Wednesday for a no-fly zone over Ukraine to protect it from Russian attacks.
After quoting the famous “I had a dream” by Martin Luther-King, he said: “I have a need, a need to protect our sky.”
“Is it too much to ask, to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine, to save people? Is it too much to ask, a humanitarian no-fly zone?” he added.
Zelensky’s speech begins
At the start of the virtual speech, the Ukrainian leader said: “Russia has not only attacked our country and cities. It has attacked our dreams and values, the same values that you have in the United States,” Zelensky said in one of his first sentences.
Applause of the legislators
Ukraine’s President Volodimir Zelensky received a standing ovation from the US Congress on Wednesday before delivering a speech via video link.
“Slava Ukraina” (“Glory to Ukraine”), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said as she introduced the speech, as lawmakers jumped to their feet and clapped enthusiastically as soon as they saw Zelensky on the screen.
US support for the Ukrainian leader
“Congress remains steadfast in its commitment to support Ukraine as it confronts Putin’s vicious and diabolical aggression, and to pass laws to cripple and isolate the Russian economy, as well as provide humanitarian, security, and economic assistance to Ukraine,” added Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, leaders of the US Congress.
(You may be interested in: Volodimir Zelensky assumes that Ukraine will not join NATO)
For weeks, the US Congress, known for bickering between parties, has shown a united front in response to Moscow and has called on President Joe Biden to harden his tone.
Zelensky already addressed the British Parliament a few days ago. Invoking Winston Churchill, wearing a khaki shirt and sitting near a Ukrainian flag, he called for more support for his country after the Russian invasion, saying they “will fight to the end.”
On March 5, he spoke to more than a hundred US congressmen by videoconference to ask for a tightening of economic sanctions against Russia.
A few days later, congressmen adopted the disbursement of 14,000 million dollars (12,750 million euros) to help kyiv protect its electricity network, fight against cyber attacks and equip itself with defensive weapons.
(Also read: Russia sanctions Joe Biden and other important US officials.)
A White House source announced that the president Joe Biden will announce an additional $800 million in aid for Ukraine in the next few hours.
“In total, the president has authorized about $2 billion in aid” to Ukraine since the start of his term, according to White House sources.
Biden’s announcement will come after the intervention of the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenksi, before the American congressmen, in which he will undoubtedly ask for more aid for his country and the creation of an air exclusion zone over Ukraine, something that Washington rules out for now.
Biden calls Putin a ‘war criminal’
The president of United States, Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” on Wednesday. for his invasion of neighboring Ukraine. “I think he is a war criminal,” Biden replied to a journalist who questioned him at the White House after an event dedicated to the fight against domestic violence.
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki said Biden was ‘speaking from his heart’ after seeing footage on TV of “barbaric actions of a brutal dictator through his invasion of a foreign country”.
Psaki specified that “a legal procedure (was) still ongoing in the State Department” regarding a legal classification of “war crimes” committed by Russia in Ukraine.
Until now, no US official had publicly used the terms “war criminal” or “war crimes,” unlike other states or international organizations.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With AFP
More news on Ukraine
– Ukraine: this Tuesday the negotiations continue before the bombing of cities
– Russia sanctions Joe Biden and other important US officials.
– Russia: journalist breaks live against the war in Ukraine
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