Ukraine war: US gives another $1.1bn in arms after Zelensky appeal

The Ukrainian President received standing ovations from Democrats and Republicans after appealing for more help in defending his country.

Volodymyr Zelensky virtually addresses the US congress at the US Capitol’s visitor centre on Wednesday. Picture: AFP

President Volodymyr Zelensky was promised $US800m ($1.1bn) worth of new weaponry, drones and equipment by the US on Wednesday after evoking the horrors of September 11 and Pearl Harbor in a powerful appeal to congress.

He received standing ovations from Democrats and Republicans after appealing for more help in defending his country, also renewing his call for a no-fly zone to keep Russian planes out of the skies above Ukraine. He urged the US to pull all of its companies out of Russia and sanction all Russian politicians who refused to speak out against the invasion.

Members of congress were seen wiping away tears when Mr Zelensky, speaking in Kyiv, with the feed relayed on a giant screen at the Capitol’s visitor centre, showed them a video compilation of the atrocities being committed. The images of bombings, bodies in the street and mass graves also featured before-and-after shots of shelled Ukrainian cities, and the tearful farewells of families divided by the war – all of it accompanied by haunting violin music. The presentation ended with an appeal: “Close the sky over Ukraine.”

The US, fearing a third world war, has firmly rejected calls for a no-fly zone and for Polish fighter jets to join the conflict, but Mr Zelensky persisted, closing with an appeal in English directly to President Joe Biden. “Now, I’m almost 45 years old,” he said. “Today my age stopped when the hearts of more than a hundred children stopped beating.

“I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths. As the leader of my nation, I’m addressing President Biden. You are the leader of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace. Thank you. Slava Ukraini (Glory to Ukraine).”

Asked about Mr Biden’s reservations over a no-fly zone, Mr Zelensky later told NBC News that a third world war “may already have started”. He said: “Nobody knows whether it may have already started. And what is the possibility of this war if Ukraine will fall? … It’s very hard to say.”

Just as he referred to Churchill and Shakespeare in his address to the British parliament last week, Mr Zelensky tailored his words to congress to draw upon iconic moments in American history. “I have a dream – these words known to each of you today,” he said, recalling Martin Luther King’s speech about the vision of a new America.

“I have a need. I need to protect our skies. I need your decision, your help. Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people. This is a terror that Europe has not seen for 80 years and we are asking for a reply, for an answer to this terror from the whole world.”

He appeared to accept the refusal to consider a no-fly zone but continued with his request anyway. “Is this a lot to ask for? To create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people? … If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative. You know what kind of defence systems we need: S-300 (surface-to-air missiles), aircraft that can help Ukraine, help Europe. You have them, but they are on the ground, not in the Ukrainian sky. They do not defend our people. Americans, in your great history, you have pages that would allow you to understand Ukrainians. Remember Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you. Remember September 11, when evil tried to turn your cities into battlefields.”

Intensifying his plea for pressure on Russia to be increased, Mr Zelensky added: “Ukraine is grateful to the United States for its overwhelming support, for everything your government and your people have done for us: for weapons and ammunition, for training and finances, for leadership in the free world, which helps us pressure the aggressor economically. In the darkest time for our country, for the whole of Europe, I call on you to do more.”

Mr Biden responded later from the White House, approving the dispatch of 100 drones, 800 anti-aircraft systems, 9000 shoulder-launched anti-armour weapons, 7000 small arms and 20 million rounds of ammunition. “More will be coming,” he said.

The Times