1: president volodymyr zelensky of ukraine is travelling to washington, dc to meet with us president joe biden. the us has committed $50bn of humanitarian, financial and security assistance to ukraine – more than any other country. president zelensky visited bakhmut, a front-line city in eastern ukraine, dressed in combat khaki. he also addressed congress in washington, d.c. and the white house revealed a new package of nearly $2bn of security assistance for ukraine. additionally, president zelensky visited the front line in eastern ukraine and met with troops.
2: president zelensky’s travel to the us took place in april 2021, while his visit to bakhmut and the front line in eastern ukraine occurred in march 2021. the us is supplying ukraine with a patriot missile system to improve their air defence capabilities. meanwhile, russian president vladimir putin gave a speech to defence chiefs saying russia is fighting against the forces of nato in ukraine. president zelensky declared that ukraine would do “everything possible and impossible” to take back all occupied territory.
3: the monthly cost of defence for ukraine is reportedly about $5bn. president zelensky is unlikely to receive the longer-range weapons he’s been requesting to hit russian targets away from the front lines. congress is currently considering additional aid of $50bn to support ukraine. details of president zelensky’s travel were not disclosed publicly in order to maintain security. president zelensky wrote “on my way to the us to strengthen resilience and defense capabilities of ukraine.” he also handed out awards to soldiers and pledged to deliver a ukrainian flag with their names signed on it to president biden and the us congress.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64047058?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
