Zelensky expected in Washington Wednesday for an already historic visit
Steph Deschamps / December 22, 2022
The Ukrainian president will travel to the United States on Wednesday to attend a meeting in Congress.
Volodymyr Zelensky will meet Wednesday at the White House with Joe Biden, the leaders of the U.S. Congress and elected officials sitting on a parliamentary committee on national security, confirmed several U.S. media including CNN, after a first information from Punchbowl News.
The Ukrainian president, still on Tuesday on the Ukrainian front in Bakhmut, should also speak during a plenary session of Congress.
Earlier Tuesday, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that a session of Congress would be held Wednesday nightwith, she said, a focus on democracy.
This will be Volodymyr Zelensky's first in-person visit to the United States - and more generally, outside Ukraine's borders - since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Axios said.
Until now, the Ukrainian president spoke at various international political meetings via video conference or recorded video messages.
The surprise visit comes as the country is set to send new weapons to Ukraine via a new defense assistance program, added U.S. media outlet CNN. Punchbowl News added that the U.S. Congress was about to approve another $45 billion in aid to Ukraine.
According to CNN, the White House has so far declined to comment on a potential visit.