Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the United States Congress on March 16 in a virtual speech from the capital city of Kyiv that was broadcast live by CBS.
Zelenskyy thanked the American people and the members of the U.S. government for the aid offered so far in his nation’s now-three-week defense against invading Russian forces. He also asked for more help in stopping the shelling and bombing of major cities and civilian areas of Ukraine.
“Right now, the destiny of our country is being decided, the destiny of our people, whether they will be able to preserve their democracy, whether Ukrainians will be free,” Zelenskyy said. “Russia has attacked not just us, not just our land, not just our cities; it went on a brutal offensive against our values, basic human values. It threw tanks and planes against our freedom, our right to live freely in our own country, choosing our own future.”
Zelenskyy compared the invasion of Ukraine to some of the most tragic experiences in American history, including Pearl Harbor and the September 11 terrorist attacks.
“Remember Pearl Harbor and the terrible morning of December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you,” Zelenskyy said. “Just remember it. Remember September 11, 2001, when evil tried to turn your cities, independent territories into battlefields… You could not stop it. Our country experiences it every night right now.”
Zelenskyy called on the free world — and the U.S. specifically — to answer Russian aggression by establishing a humanitarian no-fly zone, thereby putting an end to Russia’s use of ballistic missiles and aircraft in attacks on Ukrainian cities.
“If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative,” Zelenskyy said. “You know what kind of defense systems we need, S-300 and other similar systems. You know how much depends on the battlefield, on the ability to use aircraft, powerful and strong aviation to defend our people, our freedom, our land. Aircraft that can help Ukraine to help Europe. You know that they exist and you have them in sufficient numbers… but they are not in the Ukrainian skies. They don’t defend our people.”
Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. government and the U.S. people for providing weapons, training, and leadership, along with considerable financial resources, but asked the country to further punish Russia and dissuade the country from continuing its invasion.
“I call on you to do even more, new packages of sanctions are needed every week until the Russian military machine stops,” Zelenskyy said. “We propose that the United States sanction all politicians in the Russian Federation who remain in their offices and do not cut ties with those who are responsible for this aggression against Ukraine.”
To drive the point home, Zelenskyy aired a video that depicted graphic scenes of the war in Ukraine, including the crumpled bodies of Ukrainian civilians, children injured and dead, mass graves, and fires raging over the skyline of Kyiv.
The images were interspersed with pictures shot before the invasion, showing the bright and vibrant life Ukrainians enjoyed before the Russia invaded on February 24.
“I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths, and this is my main mission as the leader of my people,” Zelenskyy said. “I am addressing President Biden — You are the leader of the world, and being the leader of the world means that you are the leader of peace.”
President Biden spoke later in the morning after viewing Zelenskyy’s address from his private residence.
“[Zelenskyy] speaks for a people who have shown remarkable courage and strength in the face of brutal aggression, courage and strength that has not only inspired Ukrainians, but the entire world,” Biden said. “Yesterday, we saw reports that Russian forces are holding hundreds of doctors and patients hostage in the largest hospital in Mariupol. These are atrocities that are an outrage to the world.”
Biden noted the U.S. is the leading supplier of weapons and humanitarian aid for the people of Ukraine. He then announced that he would sign an authorization to provide an additional $800 million in military equipment to the country, some of which was among the specific types of armament Zelenskyy requested in his address to Congress.
“We started our assistance to Ukraine before this war began… We took the threat of Putin invading very seriously,” Biden said. He added that before Russia invaded, the U.S. had contributed $650 million in military aid to provide anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons.
Shortly after the attack began, Biden authorized an additional $350 million. On March 13, he authorized a further $200 million, bringing the U.S.’s total financial investment in supplying weapons for the war to nearly $2 billion, including $1 billion just this week.
The newly-authorized funding will primarily provide equipment similar to what is already being used in Ukraine, which has been at least partially responsible for the slow progression of Russian ground forces.
This weaponry includes shoulder-fired rockets, rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft missiles, a vast cache of machine guns and shotguns, and more than 20 million rounds of ammunition. The U.S. will also be supplying drones that have proven to be highly effective at neutralizing Russian artillery and forward-command centers.
“Now, I want to be honest with you,” Biden said. “This could be a long and difficult battle, but the American people will be steadfast in our support of the people of Ukraine in the face of Putin’s immoral, unethical attacks on civilian populations. We are united in our abhorrence of Putin’s depraved onslaught. We are going to continue to have their backs as they fight for their freedom, their democracy, their very survival.”
Biden further noted that since the beginning of the invasion, the U.S. has facilitated the movement of tens of thousands of tons of humanitarian aid, along with $300 million in funding to assist Ukrainians still in the country and the millions who have fled to neighboring nations.
The U.S. President also pledged to support Ukraine’s economy with direct financial assistance.
“Together with our allies and partners, we will keep up the pressure on Putin’s crumbling economy, isolating him on the global stage,” Biden said. “That’s our goal. Make Putin pay the price, weaken his position while strengthening the hand of Ukrainians on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.”
He continued, “Together with our allies and partners, we are going to stay the course and will do everything we can to push for an end to this tragic, unnecessary war. This is a struggle that pits the appetites of an autocrat against humankind’s desire to be free, and let there be no doubt, no uncertainty, no question: America stands with the forces of freedom.”
Biden did not say when the aid would be available for Ukrainians or from where the stores of weapons would come. In the first 48 hours of the conflict, U.S. forces moved many missile and defense systems into Ukraine; however, many of the previously used routes are no longer available due to the invading Russian forces.
