Zelensky meeting with Pelosi in Kyiv

LAST UPDATE: 12:56

During a surprise visit to Kyiv, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to demonstrate US support for Ukraine, Kyiv and Washington announced today.

“I thank the United States for its assistance in protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country,” the Ukrainian president wrote on Twitter this morning, accompanied by a video of himself being greeted by armed guards. Pelosi together with a delegation from the Congress in front of the building of the Ukrainian presidency in Kyiv and then to meet with the members of the American delegation.

“The United States is leading the way in our strong support for Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression,” Zelensky said.

“Our delegation traveled to Kyiv to send a clear and resounding message to the world: the United States stands with Ukraine,” the US delegation said in a statement released “at the end of their delegation’s visit to Kyiv.” Members of the US delegation then traveled to southeastern Poland and Warsaw.

“Additional US support is on the way,” he said, adding that they would “turn President Biden’s strong request for funding into a package of legislative measures.”

The Ukrainian leader, for his part, welcomed the “very important messages” given by Washington and the US president, including the Lend-Lease law for Ukraine.

Congress passed legislation invoking the 1941 Lend-Lease Act originally proposed by former President Franklin Roosevelt to assist the British Army in its fight against the Nazis. The aim is to allow the Biden government to offer weapons in the form of a loan to Ukraine.

“These are important recent developments in military and financial support for Ukraine, as well as the (Lend-Lease) decision – we are grateful for that,” Zelensky was quoted as saying by the Ukrainian presidency.

The visit comes just a week after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin traveled to Kyiv.

During their visit, the two top officials announced the gradual return of the US diplomatic presence in Ukraine and additional direct and indirect assistance worth more than $ 700 million.

Source: Capital

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