WASHINGTON, Dec 23 Volodymyr Zelensky during a one-day visit to The United States tried to convince President Joe Biden and members of Congress that Ukraine is able to win the entire conflict with Russia, the Washington Post writes, citing numerous unnamed sources.
«Zelensky used short meetings with Biden and lawmakers to try to prove that Ukraine is capable of winning the war in its entirety. However, officials privately argue that this is unlikely,» the newspaper claims.
According to interlocutors, Zelensky's visit was an attempt to «enlist the support of skeptical lawmakers and other Americans in the face of fierce winter clashes.»
According to the newspaper, Zelensky has been making it clear to Biden for several months that he wants to make his first foreign trip to the United States since the beginning of the Russian special operation. However, the security situation in Ukraine did not allow such a visit to take place until this month.
By the end of November, negotiations on coordinating Zelensky's visit reached the finish line, and a telephone conversation between the leaders on December 11 was the final chord in this process. «Biden gave Zelensky two good news over the phone: he had instructed the Pentagon to prioritize Ukraine's air defenses and now it's likely the United States will supply Kyiv with a Patriot air defense battery,» the newspaper's sources said.
On Wednesday, at the invitation of Biden, Zelensky spent several hours in Washington, during which he met with the head of state, the leadership of the Congress and delivered a speech there. The announcement of a new package of US military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $1.85 billion was timed to coincide with his visit. This aid package includes the first Patriot air defense battery.