House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday pledged unwavering US support for Ukraine “until the fighting is over” after she and a congressional delegation held an unannounced meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
pelosi and Zelensky both published tweets from the meeting – with the Ukrainian leader linking to a video of him in work clothes and surrounded by armed guards greeting Democratic congressmen in Kyiv on Saturday.
“We believe we are visiting you to thank you for your fight for freedom. We are on a frontier of freedom and your fight is a fight for all. Our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is over,” Pelosi said in a video posted to her account.
Pelosi is the highest-ranking US official to visit Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24, and comes a week after Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
Zelenskyi the day before welcomed the delegation, which included MPs Adam Schiff from California and Gregory Meeks from New York, and expressed his gratitude to them for this signal of strong support from the United States, the people and the United States Congress – bicameral and bipartisan support.”
“This shows that today the United States is a leader in providing strong support to Ukraine during the war against Russian Federation aggression,” he said.
Pelosi, in a statement released Sunday, said Zelenskyy had urged the US to continue providing military, economic and humanitarian assistance in the wake of what it called “Putin’s diabolical invasion.”
“Our delegation proudly conveyed the message that additional American support is on the way as we work to turn President Biden’s strong funding request into a legislative package,” Pelosi’s statement said
“Our delegation conveyed to President Zelenskyy our respect and gratitude for his leadership and our admiration for the Ukrainian people for their courage in the fight against Russian oppression,” she continued.
President Biden asked Congress last week to approve $33 billion in new funding for Ukraine.
The package includes $20.4 billion in military spending, $8.5 billion in cash for the Ukrainian government and $3 billion in humanitarian aid.
Pelosi and the other Democrats are expected to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda and other senior officials.
With postal wires
https://nypost.com/2022/05/01/pelosi-vows-us-support-for-ukraine-after-zelensky-meeting/ Pelosi pledges US support for Ukraine after Zelenskyy meeting
