Throughout his go to to the US, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will probably have a couple of factors he desires to convey to US President Joe Biden, Congress and the American individuals, Steven Pifer, a former US ambassador to Ukraine, stated.
The primary of these factors will probably be gratitude, Pifer stated on CNN as Ukrainian president arrived in Washington, DC, Wednesday.
“The US has been the important thing accomplice for Ukraine because it fights off this unprovoked battle of aggression that Vladimir Putin launched on Ukraine again in February,” he stated.
Biden is ready to announce a further $1.8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine in the course of the go to, with the coveted Patriot missile techniques as a part of that package deal. Moreover, Congress is poised to log off on one other $45 billion in support for Ukraine and NATO allies, deepening the dedication that has helped Kyiv’s forces inflict an unexpectedly bloody worth on Putin’s forces.
That is on prime of dozens of earlier monetary and army support packages from the US for the reason that battle started.
Pifer stated Zelensky will use his go to to make the case that this help must proceed because the battle drags on into the winter months. Zelensky will probably attempt to argue that not solely is it good for Ukraine — however that preventing Russia is in US pursuits as properly, Pifer stated in his evaluation.
“Going again 70 years, it has been within the US nationwide curiosity to have a secure and safe Europe. If Russia wins this battle, you are not going to have that sort of Europe. It is going to absorb way more time and American assets,” he stated.
One other level, Pifer stated, is that “we do not know the way far Vladimir Putin’s ambitions go.”
“When he talks about Ukraine, he talks about not a sovereign nation, however what he refers to as historic Russian land,” Pifer stated, including that its exhausting for the US and different ally international locations to inform if Russia would proceed its aggression on different elements within the area — together with some international locations, like Poland, who’re members of NATO.
