WASHINGTON (AP) December,22– The idea of a daring war trip to Washington by Volodymyr Zelensky floated for some time until the surprise visit broke down just hours before the Ukrainian president’s arrival.
At his October summit in Zagreb, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi discussed the possibility of President Zelensky speaking before the US Congress with his Ukrainian parliamentary counterparts. Officials in the Biden administration have likewise been negotiating with Ukraine for months about President Zelensky’s visit to the White House.
Zelensky told Biden that now is the right time.
“Actually, I wanted to come sooner. The president knows it, but I couldn’t do it because the situation was very difficult,” Zelensky said Wednesday from the Oval Office. Now that we have it under control, and most importantly, because of your support, we are able to proceed with this visit.”
After the two presidents discussed his December 11 visit, the White House issued a formal invitation to him on December 14, a senior administration official said. Zelensky accepted the invitation on Friday, and after the visit was confirmed two days later, White House officials briefed Pelosi’s office on the Ukrainian leader’s travel plans.
It was revealed on Wednesday that U.S. and Ukrainian officials are working diligently to get Zelensky quickly and safely to Washington, his first trip across the border since the Russian invasion in February. It was a plan that worked.
The Ukrainian president entered Poland early Wednesday morning and arrived at the railway station in Przemysl, a border town and arrival point for many war refugees, according to Polish private broadcaster TVN24. Accompanied by US Ambassador to Ukraine Brigitte Brink, Zelensky was transported in a US embassy vehicle to Rzeszów’s airport, where she boarded a direct flight that landed at Joint Base Andrews just after noon on Wednesday.
As soon as Zelensky landed, information protection began, as is usually the case with heads of state.
The senior administration official said the U.S. consulted closely with Zelenskyy on his security, and that the Ukrainian president felt it was sufficient for him to briefly travel to the United States.
Meanwhile, Pelosi, who had travelled the world in recent months in a ferocious defence of Ukraine, had also been planting the seeds for months for a Zelenskyy address to Congress.
The U.S. House speaker returned from Croatia and began discussing the idea of a Zelenskyy address, informing the other main congressional leaders — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. — about her conversations abroad and asking for their support for the Ukrainian leader to come to the Capitol.
On Wednesday, Pelosi — just days away from handing over her gavel to Republican control — finally welcomed Zelenskyy to the Capitol, which she called a “profound privilege” and a “great pride,” coming at a moment when Capitol Hill is about to greenlight an additional $45 billion of emergency aid to Ukraine.
Before he left Ukraine, there were clues in Zelenskyy’s own words that a surprise trip abroad could be in the works. On Wednesday night, when Zelensky stood before the U.S. Congress, he finally waved a flag — covered in the signatures of Ukrainian forces fighting on the front lines.
