White House confirms Zelensky’s visit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Washington on December 21, where he will meet with US President Joe Biden. About it informed a senior US administration official, his words are published on the White House website.

“At the invitation of President Biden, President Zelensky will visit Washington tomorrow (Wednesday. – Approx. Vedomosti). And we will have the opportunity to hang out here at the White House and then go to Capitol Hill,” he said.

The official added that the White House sent an official invitation to Zelensky to visit Washington a week ago. The Ukrainian leader accepted the invitation on Friday, December 16th.

It is noted that this will be Zelensky’s first visit to the White House since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine. During the trip, Zelensky will meet with Biden, take part in a press conference at the White House, and later speak in the US Congress. The topics of negotiations between the leaders of Ukraine and the United States will be military operations in Ukraine, support for Kyiv by Washington and allies, as well as sanctions against Russia.

The White House also confirmed that on December 21, Biden will announce a new military assistance package for Ukraine in the amount of almost $ 2 billion. In particular, it will include Patriot air defense systems. The US administration official added that the US military also intends to train Ukrainian troops on how to use these weapons. The training will take place in a third country.

Earlier today, CNN reported that Zelensky flew to the United States to meet with Biden and discuss military assistance to Ukraine. Associated Press wrotethat the volume of the new package will be $1.8 billion, it will include both Patriot systems and guided missiles for JDAM fighters. The agency noted that the US government plans to announce new deliveries on December 21.

On December 13, CNN reported on Washington’s plans to send Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine. However, the White House did not confirm this information.

In the Kremlin called Patriot complexes as legitimate military targets of the Russian Armed Forces (AF) if they are delivered to Ukraine. Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov stressed that he was not yet ready to comment on this information in detail, since today “media reports are an unreliable thing.” He urged to wait for official information.

The Russian embassy in the United States called the possible sending of Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine “a provocative step” and predicted “unpredictable consequences”.