The president of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, visited Ukraine yesterday together with a group of Democratic congressmen. During the secret visit, Pelosi met with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky and, according to reports, topics such as Western aid and future expectations in the war with Russia were discussed.
Pelosi promised that US support will endure “until victory is won.” “Don’t be intimidated by the bullies,” he told reporters afterward. “If they’re making threats, they can’t back down.”
The three-hour meeting underscored relations with allies and the US commitment to align with Ukraine, but also underscored the limits of Western involvement. While the United States has approved $13 billion in military, humanitarian, and economic aid and the Biden administration last week requested $33 billion more, the United States and NATO have refused to confront Russian forces directly.
Today, Sunday, Zelensky was diplomatic in his meeting with Pelosi and the Democrats: “Everyone is welcome,” he said in a short video posted by his office on Twitter, but he has also been forceful in expressing his frustrations with the United States and other NATO countries. due to what it considers an insufficient response to Russian aggression. His calls for the West to help secure a no-fly zone over Ukraine, for example, have been dismissed as too risky.
But as the conflict has evolved and Russia has intensified its attacks in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the Biden administration is ramping up assistance, including the recent decision to provide increasingly sophisticated weapons systems to help Ukrainian forces to weather the attack.
Pelosi’s visit is just the latest confirmation of America’s commitment to the fight, at least when it comes to services and economic aid. “We think we visited him to thank him for his fight for freedom,” Pelosi told Zelensky.
Joining her were several other prominent Democrats: Representatives Jim McGovern (Massachusetts), who heads the Rules Committee; Gregory Meeks (NY), chairman of the Foreign Affairs panel; and Adam Schiff (Calif.), Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, who stressed the importance of providing Zelensky’s forces with the latest information gathered by US intelligence agencies. “The suffering is meaningless, and the whole world is on edge as Putin’s assault on Ukraine and democracy continues,” Schiff said in a statement. Completing the list are Representatives Barbara Lee (California), who heads the Appropriations Committee’s subpanel on foreign operations; Bill Keating (Massachusetts), chairman of the Europe Foreign Affairs subcommittee; and Jason Crow (Col.), an Army veteran who also serves on the Intelligence and Armed Services panels.
Sunday’s visit comes on the heels of several other high-profile trips. Last week, two prominent members of Biden’s cabinet, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Blinken, visited kyiv, where they also met with Zelensky. And during the Easter break last month, at least three groups of lawmakers visited the Polish-Ukrainian border, including one led by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and another by his counterpart. Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R- California).
Each of those groups featured lawmakers from both parties, unlike Pelosi’s gathering, which included only Democrats.
