[ad_1]
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is in Washington to meet with President Joe Biden and plead with U.S. lawmakers to continue critical military aid for his embattled country, has called for the creation of a European military hub in Ukraine.
Zelenskiy is scheduled to address U.S. senators at 9 a.m. local time and meet privately with House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose Republican colleagues have blocked a bill which includes tens of billions of dollars in military aid for Ukraine.
Live Briefing: Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL’s Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia’s full-scale invasion, Kyiv’s counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL’s coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
His meeting with Biden is set to take place later in the afternoon, when the two leaders will discuss what the White House said were the “urgent needs” facing Kyiv in its battle against the Russian invasion.
Zelenskiy met with leaders of U.S. defense companies and advanced the proposal to establish a European defense hub in his country that would speed up and increase the production of military equipment and ammunition, he said on X, formerly Twitter, early on December 12.
“I met with leaders of U.S. defense companies and expressed my gratitude to every American worker who manufactures weapons that help us safeguard our people and defend our land,” Zelenskiy said.
“I also proposed establishing a European defense hub in Ukraine. We are prepared to make all essential decisions, cut red tape, and allocate orders. We are ready to produce more ammunition and military vehicles, but we require support. It is important to develop joint production of artillery ammo, air defense systems, and artillery and missile systems,” Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy’s U.S. visit comes after he on December 5 canceled a video address to U.S. senators as debate heated up on Biden’s nearly $106 billion request for funding for the wars in Ukraine and Israel.
The Biden administration asked Congress in October to pass the aid package, which would cover not only aid for Ukraine and Israel but also border security, but the Republican-controlled House rejected the request, saying the bill lacked immigration reforms.
On December 11, Zelenskiy told military leaders and students at the National Defense University in Washington that Ukraine was counting on U.S. support and that it “won’t give up” as the war moves closer to the two-year mark.
“[Russian President Vladimir] Putin must lose. We know what to do. You can count on Ukraine, and we hope just as much to be able to count on you,” Zelenskiy told the military gathering.
In his introduction of the Ukrainian leader, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin promised “unshakable” support for Kyiv and warned that Putin still had hopes of winning his war against in Ukraine, despite the Kremlin’s heavy losses in the conflict that begin in February 2022.
“Despite his crimes and despite his isolation, Putin still believes that he can outlast Ukraine and that he can outlast America. But he is wrong,” Austin said as the crowd of military leaders and students applauded.
“America’s commitments must be honored,” he added as the Biden administration struggles to convince many opposition Republicans of the need to continue to aid Kyiv.
Zelenskiy said that “if there’s anyone inspired by unresolved issues on Capitol Hill, it’s just Putin and his secret clique. Ukrainians haven’t given up and won’t give up.”
Zelenskiy also met in Washington with International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva on December 11 as the organization’s executive board released an additional $900 million from Ukraine’s $15.6 billion loan package.
“We spoke about the remarkable resilience of the people of Ukraine despite the enormous toll of the war,” Georgieva said.
“The [Ukrainian] economy is performing strongly, with GDP growth projected to reach at least 4.5 percent this year. Inflation has continued to decline, to an annual rate of 5.1 percent in November.”
In Ukraine, Russian troops early on December 12 shelled the center of the southern city of Kherson, wounding one person, the head of the city’s military administration, Roman Mrochko, said on his Telegram channel.
“At about 7 a.m., Russian troops from the temporarily occupied left bank [of the Dnieper River] shelled downtown Kherson. As a result of this attack, a 29-year-old man was wounded,” Mrochko said.
Earlier, Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said Russian troops shelled the region 125 times over the past 24 hours. Separately, Ukrainian air defense said it shot down nine of the 15 drones launched by Russia on December 12.
With reporting by Reuters and AFP
[ad_2]
