While Zelenskyy Spoke to US Congress, Biden Administration Was At Work on Ukraine's Security
Biden labels Putin a "war criminal"
Ukraine's heroic president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, took center stage Wednesday with his standing-ovation address to the US Congress.
President Biden and his administration, meanwhile, were doing more to fight for Ukraine's security and sovereignty.
In the midst of brutal Russian shelling, as the Russian military is three weeks into its lawless incursion into the sovereign and democratic Ukraine, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been stepping up his outreach to world leaders.
Tuesday, Zelenskyy hosted three European leaders in person in Kyiv, but Wednesday turned to video to make remarks to the full US Congress.
“Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace,” he told American lawmakers.
Meanwhile, for the first time — and in response to a reporter's question — Biden declared Russian leader Vladimir Putin as a “war criminal.”
It was Putin who launched the all-out assault on neighboring Ukraine in late February, and since then Putin and the Russian military have taken to increasingly brutal tactics to try to subdue Ukrainian resistance.
This has included many civilian targets, including apartment buildings and even a maternity hospital.
The Biden White House also announced a new tranche of direct military aid for embattled Ukraine, totalling $800 million in all.
This will include:
800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems;
2,000 Javelin, 1,000 light anti-armor weapons, and 6,000 AT-4 anti-armor systems;
100 tactical aerial drones;
Finally, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke Wednesday with Gen. Nikolay Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Security Council, to reiterate the United States’ opposition to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.
“Mr. Sullivan clearly laid out the United States’ commitment to continue imposing costs on Russia, to support the defense of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank, in continued full coordination with our Allies and partners,” White House National Security Council (NSC) spokeswoman Emily Horne said in a statement. “Mr. Sullivan told General Patrushev that if Russia is serious about diplomacy then Moscow should stop attacking Ukrainian cities and towns. Mr. Sullivan also warned General Patrushev about the consequences and implications of any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.”
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