Washington (CNN) — President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will deliver a speech to members of the US Congress on Wednesdayrepresenting a rare moment for the Eastern European country’s leader to address US lawmakers as his country continues to fight the Russian invasion.
The speech comes following similar virtual messages from Zelensky to other NATO allies, during which the Ukrainian leader has called on the West to aggressively step up its efforts to counter Russia’s bombing of Ukrainian territory.
Zelensky’s comments come the day following President Joe Biden signed a colossal spending bill, which includes more than $13 billion in aid to Ukraine.
Zelensky, who remains at home, will address members of Congress at 9 am ET on Wednesday. Here’s what to watch out for:
Request for more assistance, putting pressure on Biden and NATO
Zelensky is expected to renew his orders for more weapons, as well as a no fly zone on Ukraine, during the speech.
The Ukrainian leader has pressed Biden officials to help negotiate the transfer of Soviet-made weaponry to his country, including MiG fighter jets and S-300 surface-to-air missile systems.
The Biden administration has so far not helped provide those weapons systems. US officials, including Bidenremain concerned that Russia may perceive such an arms transfer as an escalation in hostilities.
Prior to Wednesday’s comments, top House and Senate Republicans sent a letter calling on the Biden administration to provide Ukraine with Soviet- and Russian-made air defense systems to help defend once morest invasion.
Zelensky has been pressing Biden and NATO to do more, expressing frustration over Western allies’ concerns regarding provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Tuesday, Zelensky called Article 5, the principle that an attack once morest one NATO country is considered an attack once morest all NATO countries, as “weak.”
“Some states of (the) alliance have bullied themselves, saying that they cannot respond. That they cannot collide with Russian missiles and planes in the Ukrainian sky. Because this, they say, will lead to escalation, it will lead to the third war. … And what will they say if Russia goes beyond Europe, attacking other countries? I’m sure the same thing they say to Ukraine,” he said. “Article 5 of the NATO treaty has never been so weak as it is now. This is our opinion.”
Specific appeals to an American audience
Zelensky can use his platform with Washington to make a specific appeal to lawmakers in the room and to Americans watching from home.
In a speech earlier this month to the UK House of Commons, Zelensky received a standing ovation when he referred to Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s most famous speech during the war.
“We will not give up and we will not lose. We will fight to the end at sea, in the air. We will continue to fight for our land, no matter what it takes,” Zelensky said.
And in a speech to Canada’s Parliament on Tuesday, he asked lawmakers to imagine how they would react to an invasion of their own cities.
“Can you imagine at 4 am you start hearing bomb blasts, loud bangs? Can you imagine hearing your kids, hearing all these loud bangs? Airport bombing? Ottawa airport bombing? Dozens of other cities of your wonderful country, can you imagine that?” he said.
He continued with the analogy: “Can you imagine Toronto’s famous CN Tower, if it were hit by Russian bombs? Of course I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, but this is our reality that we live in.”
A possible call for Congress to vote on sanctions
Zelensky can ask lawmakers to move forward with tougher sanctions once morest Russia.
During his most recent call with Biden, Zelensky pressed the US to implement more sanctions once morest Russia, in an effort to isolate the country from international trade and target the Russian elite.
The House of Representatives has passed largely symbolic legislation banning Russian oil imports and limiting Russia’s access to the World Trade Organization, which followed Biden’s executive order banning Russian energy imports. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said this week that the House intends to adopt legislation to revoke Russia’s “most favored nation” trade status, a measure supported by Biden that requires an act of Congress.
Top Republicans in recent weeks have purposely measured their criticism of Biden, signaling that they want to form a united front and send a clear signal that the president would have bipartisan support if he went ahead with more punitive measures.
A potential call for the United States to accept Ukrainian refugees
More than 3 million people have fled Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, the International Organization for Migration said on Tuesday.
Nations across Europe continue to see an increase in Ukrainian refugees entering their countries, with more than 1.8 million Ukrainians having crossed into Polish territory as of Tuesday, according to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. .
US Secretary of State Tony Blinken announced $186 million in additional humanitarian assistance on Tuesday to help Ukrainian refugees and those internally displaced by the war in Ukraine. Vice President Kamala Harris has said the United States was willing to take in more immigrants. And the Biden administration is considering accelerating the resettlement of Ukrainian refugees with ties to the US, including family already living here, according to a US official.
But border policies that left thousands of migrants and refugees from other nations in limbo also kept out a Ukrainian family fleeing war. A Ukrainian woman and her three children crossed into the United States on Thursday following being turned away a day earlier at the US-Mexico border, according to the family’s attorney.
Biden’s show of force
In the hours following Zelensky’s speech to Congress, Biden is scheduled to deliver a speech demonstrating America’s support for Ukraine.
Biden is expected to announce an additional $800 million in security assistance, according to an official, bringing the total announced last week to $1 billion and $2 billion since the start of the Biden administration.
He will reveal the new military assistance package, including anti-tank missiles, as soon as in that speech, according to officials familiar with the plans.
The new assistance will not include the no-fly zone and fighter jets that Zelensky says are needed to sustain Ukraine’s fight once morest Russia. But the new aid will include more defensive weapons than the US has already been providing, including Javelins and Stingers.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the early assistance announcement.
The speech comes a day following the president signed a spending bill that dedicates $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine.
Speaking on CNN Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said the president would speak “regarding the security assistance that we’ve provided, that we’re providing. It’s just unmatched in quantity. Anti-tank, anti-aircraft, anti-armor, all kinds of support that the Ukrainians have asked.”
Next week, Biden will travel to Europe to meet NATO leaders and attend a European Council summit to discuss the Ukraine war.
Kevin Liptak, Kaitlan Collins, Lauren Fox, Ellie Kaufman, Travis Caldwell, Priscilla Alvarez, Ivana Kottasová, Mariya Knight and Maija Ehlinger of CNN contribute to this information.
