In Speech to Congress: Zelensky Urges Biden to Be ‘Leader of the World’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his plea for air support to protect the skies over Ukraine and defend against Russia’s attacks during a virtual speech to U.S. lawmakers Wednesday, as suspected Russian munitions struck another apartment building in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, in an attack that has become part of a daily pattern.

“Ukraine is grateful to the United States for its overwhelming support,” Zelensky said. “I call on you to do more.”

Zelensky, wearing the drab green T-shirt he has been seen in since the beginning of the conflict, paused during his insistent, emotional address to play a video showing graphic scenes of civilian casualties caused by the Russian assault. In closing remarks appealing directly to President Joe Biden, he called on him to “be the leader of the world.” “Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace,” he said.

In his remarks to Congress on Wednesday morning, Zelensky called on the United States to help establish a “humanitarian no-fly zone” over Ukraine, telling lawmakers that doing so would prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from being “able to terrorize our free cities.”

“Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people,” Zelensky said.

The Biden administration has resisted the idea of a no-fly zone, arguing that imposing one could lead the United States into direct combat with Russia.

“Is this a lot to ask for, to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people? Is this too much to ask? A humanitarian no-fly zone is something that [means] Russia would not be able to terrorize our free cities. If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative.”

Listing alternatives, Zelensky added: “You know what kind of defense systems we need – S-300 and other similar systems,” a reference to surface-to-air missiles. “You know how much depends on the battlefield on the ability to use aircraft – powerful, strong aviation – to protect our people, our freedom, our land. Aircraft that can help Ukraine, help Europe.”

He added: “And you know that they exist and you have them, but they are on earth, not in the Ukrainian sky. They do not defend our people.”

Humanitarian, or limited, no-fly zones are generally interpreted to mean providing protection for humanitarian corridors negotiated by Ukraine and Russia to evacuate civilians from besieged cities and to send in food, medicines and other basic supplies.

In making his appeal, Zelensky also invoked the words of Martin Luther King Jr.

“‘I have a dream.’ These words are known to each of you,” Zelensky said. “Today, I can say, ‘I have a need. I need to protect our sky.'”

House Republican leaders told reporters Wednesday that they were deeply moved by the video Zelensky showed Congress of the atrocities being committed by Russia in Ukraine, with Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., calling Russia’s actions a “genocide.”

Scalise, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Republican Conference chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said the United States must do more to help Ukraine.

“I thought the video was one of the most moving moments in there,” McCarthy told reporters. “It made the case [that Russia is] murdering innocent people, that war crimes are being committed, that America and the world cannot sit by and ignore. We need to put a stop to this.”

Stefanik said that as a new mother, it was “heartbreaking” to see footage of Russia’s bombing of maternity wards in Ukraine.

She and the other GOP leaders called Zelensky’s address to Congress inspiring.

“When President Zelensky showed that video, you really got to see firsthand the sheer brutality of what Putin is doing inside Ukraine,” Scalise said. “It was very hard to watch.”

He added that the video shows that there’s “nothing less than genocide” happening in the country.

After Zelensky’s video address to Congress, senators from both parties said they would press their colleagues and Biden for more U.S. aid for Ukraine.

“I don’t know how anyone could listen to him and see the videos and not be in favor of . . . sending drones, sending additional weaponry, ceasing doing business in Russia,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

The video stirred emotions among lawmakers. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said he wants Biden not only to announce more financial support for Ukraine but also to make it clear that the funds will move quickly and “more creatively.”

“A powerful message that came out of that video . . . was that, for all he’s done, it’s not enough,” Portman said. “So, we need to do more, and, specifically, we need to provide them the armaments at a minimum to be able to protect themselves.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said Zelensky’s plea for more weapons and help “is a good one.”

“I’m looking forward to see what the president says,” she said.

Klobuchar, who was in Poland last week and met Ukrainian refugees, said the video brought the terrors of the war to her colleagues who have not seen it live.

“For those of our colleagues that either haven’t seen the refugees or even been to Ukraine, I think it really hits home, the horror of what’s going on here, and I thought it was really important to see that,” Klobuchar said.

The Biden administration has resisted Kyiv’s call to establish a no-fly zone in Ukraine, a measure that has little bipartisan support in Congress and one that U.S. officials fear could inflame tensions and risk a broader global conflict with nuclear-armed Russia. The White House is, however, set to announce $800 million more in security assistance Wednesday, a senior administration official said, as part of a government spending bill President Biden signed Tuesday that will provide $13.6 billion in new aid to Ukraine. Previous U.S. assistance has included shipments of antiaircraft and anti-armor systems.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that there is “hope for reaching a compromise” with the Ukrainian delegation in peace talks, echoing comments by Ukrainian officials that progress had been made. Lavrov, speaking in an interview with the Russian television channel RBC, said he was basing his assessment on the view of the Russian negotiators. Talks will continue Wednesday.

Nearly three weeks into their invasion, Russian forces are intensifying attacks on civilian targets across a number of Ukrainian cities. A suspected Russian strike on a 12-story apartment building in Kyiv on Wednesday morning injured two people and partially collapsed the upper floors, emergency services said, while in the port city of Mariupol, which is surrounded by Russian troops, hundreds of people, including doctors and medical personnel, are being held inside a regional hospital, according to Ukrainian officials. As many as 3 million people have fled the war-torn country since the invasion began, half of them children, according to the U.N. children’s agency.

(c) 2022, The Washington Post · Eugene Scott, Mike DeBonis, Mariana Alfaro, Felicia Sonmez 

{Matzav.com}