He had not left Ukraine since the start of the Russian offensive. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Washington (United States) on Wednesday 21 December. He is due to meet Joe Biden at 6 p.m. (French time), then hold a press conference, then address the United States Congress, the White House announced. All in “a few short hours”, according to a senior US official. Several American media had already announced this surprise visit, his first to Washington since September 2021 – his wife Olena Zelenska had gone there in July. Follow the news of the conflict in our direct.
New US aid expected. Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington will be an opportunity for the United States to announce new aid “meaningful” to Ukraine, including the shipment of Patriot anti-aircraft systems, according to the White House spokeswoman. American parliamentarians are also preparing to vote a new envelope of nearly 45 billion dollars for Ukraine, almost as much as the total amount of aid provided so far to kyiv by Washington.
A doubly symbolic date. December 21 marks the 300th day of Russia’s attempted invasion of Ukraine. It is also the day chosen by Vladimir Putin to convene a major military meeting in Moscow. In front of about 15 000 officials of his army, by videoconference, the Russian president must take stock of the offensive and set objectives for 2023.
A trip to the front on Tuesday. The Ukrainian president visited Bakhmout, a city in eastern Ukraine that has been bombarded for months by Russian troops, on Tuesday. He had prefigured the announcement of his visit to Washington, when he received a flag signed by combatants, declaring : “We’re going to give it to the US Congress, to the US President. We’re grateful for their support but it’s not enough.”