Wednesday, December 21, 2022

US Aid For Ukraine Is 'Investment', Not 'Charity', Zelenskyy Tells US Congress


<p>New Delhi: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday addressed the United States Congress and said that Ukraine still stands &ldquo;against all odds&rdquo;. The address comes amid the President&rsquo;s defiant wartime visit to Washington to thank US leaders and &ldquo;ordinary Americans&rdquo; for their support in the war against Russia&rsquo;s invasion.</p> <p>According to the Associated Press, Zelenskyy stressed that there would be &ldquo;no compromises&rdquo; in the attempt to bring an end to the war.</p> <p>The address to the US Congress comes as Zelenskyy aims at sustaining support for Ukraine&rsquo;s defense. The Ukrainian President said that the tens of billions of dollars that the US spent on military and economic assistance over the past year was vital to Kyiv&rsquo;s efforts to block Russian advances into its territory, he further appealed for more in the future.</p> <p><strong>ALSO READ |<span style="color: #e03e2d;"> <a style="color: #e03e2d;" title="" href="https://ift.tt/4LkD6MO" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-toggle="tooltip" data-html="true" data-original-title="Story ID: 1571091" aria-describedby="tooltip450835">&rsquo;China&rsquo;s Recent Aggression In Arunachal Another Reason To Strengthen India-US Ties&rsquo;: US</a></span></strong></p> <p>&ldquo;Your money is not charity. It&rsquo;s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handled in the most responsible way,&rdquo; he said, as quoted by the AP.</p> <p>Earlier, President Joe Biden welcomed Zelenskyy to the Oval Office and assured that the US and Ukraine would maintain their &ldquo;united defense&rdquo; as Russia continues to put up a &ldquo;brutal assault on Ukraine&rsquo;s right to exist as a nation&rdquo;. Biden vowed to help bring about a &ldquo;just peace.&rdquo;</p> <p>This is Zelenskyy&rsquo;s first known trip outside Ukraine since Russia&rsquo;s invasion in February. He said he wanted to visit earlier and&nbsp; that his visit now portrayed that the &ldquo;situation is under control, because of your support.&rdquo;</p> <h3><span style="color: #ba372a;"><strong>'Ukraine Is Alive And Kicking': President Zelenskyy</strong></span></h3> <p>Zelenskyy also received thunderous applause from members of Congress as he said, &ldquo;Ukraine is alive and kicking. Ukraine, the United States, and Europe have defeated Russia by compelling minds around the world. Russian tyranny has lost control over us&rdquo;, as quoted by news agency ANI.</p> <p>The Ukrainian President said that next year would be a &ldquo;turning point&rdquo; in the war, &ldquo;when Ukrainian courage and American resolve must guarantee the future of our common freedom &mdash; the freedom of people who stand for their values.&rdquo;</p> <p>He presented US lawmakers with a Ukrainian flag autographed by front-line troops in Bakhmut, in Ukraine&rsquo;s contested Donetsk province. It was held up behind him on the rostrum by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and US Vice President Kamala Harris.</p> <p>Pelosi presented him with an American flag that had flown over the Capitol that day, the AP reported.</p> <p>Ukraine &ldquo;will never surrender,&rdquo; he said and asserted that the stakes in the situation were greater than just the fate of his nation as democracy worldwide is being tested.</p> <p>&ldquo;This battle cannot be ignored, hoping that the ocean or something else will provide protection,&rdquo; he said.</p> <p>According to the AP&rsquo;s report, the latest US military aid package will include a Patriot missile battery and precision-guided bombs for fighter jets, US officials informed. This is seen as an expansion in the kinds of advanced weaponry to enhance Ukraine&rsquo;s air defenses against a barrage of Russian missiles.</p> <p>The Russin Foreign Ministry has deemed the delivery of the advanced surface-to-air missile system as a provocative step and said that the system and any crews accompanying it would be a legitimate target for their military.</p> <p><em>(With AP&rsquo;s Inputs)</em></p>

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