Volodymyr Zelensky Makes Historic Visit to The White House

• Financial

Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, arrived in the United States on a historic visit, marking his first foreign trip since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. Upon his arrival, Zelensky expressed his gratitude and honor at being invited to the White House and thanked the American President, Joe Biden, and the American people for their support of Ukraine.

The two leaders had a meeting in the Oval Office, where Zelensky began by thanking Biden and the American people for their support. Biden, in turn, praised the courage and endurance of the Ukrainian people and their ability to inspire the world with their resilience.

Biden reassured Zelensky that the United States would continue to provide support and assistance to Ukraine in order to strengthen its ability to defend itself, with a particular focus on air defense. He emphasized that the support of the United States extends to both political parties, and includes allies in Europe, Japan, and other countries, in order to ensure that Ukraine has the necessary financial, humanitarian, and security assistance.

This includes the recently announced deployment of the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine.

New missile system, for Ukraine

During a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden emphasized that the decision to send the Patriot anti-aircraft defense system to Ukraine does not represent an escalation of the war in the country.

Rather, Biden explained, the Patriot system is a defensive measure designed to protect Ukraine from external threats. "We're going to continue to strengthen Ukraine's ability to defend itself, particularly air defense," Biden told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky during a press conference that followed their meeting at the Oval Office.

"Ukraine's fight is part of something much bigger," Biden noted. "It's a defensive system. It's a defensive weapon system. It's not escalatory, it is defensive," he said when asked whether the supplies of these weapons could lead to further escalation.

I did not discuss that at all with the president," he added. The new package of military assistance to Ukraine "will include a Patriot missile battery, which will train Ukrainian forces to operate as part of the ongoing effort to help bolster Ukraine's air defense." "It's gonna take some time to complete the necessary training, but the Patriot battery will be another critical asset for Ukraine," he said.

"Altogether, today's new security assistance with humanitarian funding amounts to $2.2 billion in additional support for the Ukrainian people," he added.