Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy kicked off his latest visit to Washington Monday by making the case for Ukraine as the West’s only defense against an imperialist Russia, arguing that squabbling in Washington only benefits Vladimir Putin.
“Let me be frank with you friends,” Zelenskyy told a room full of military officers from across the globe at the National Defense University, “if there's anyone inspired by unresolved issues on Capitol Hill it is just Putin and his sick clique.”
The Ukrainian leader’s comments kick off two days of meetings with lawmakers and Biden administration officials as U.S. funding for Ukraine dries up, and $60 billion in fresh military and humanitarian aid is snarled in Congress.
The funding is part of a $111 billion supplemental that bundles aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and border security. Republican disagreements over border policy have kept the legislation from advancing, which has allowed Putin to see his “dreams come true,” Zelenskyy said.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin introduced Zelenskyy, and couched American aid for Ukraine as the key to supporting a global struggle for freedom against tyranny, a theme picked up........