US House Speaker leads delegation to Kyiv and Poland
American legislators assessed Ukraine's needs for the next phase of the war, with Pelosi vowing that Washington would stand with the country until it defeats Russia
A US congressional delegation led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised the courage of the Ukrainian people in remarks during a visit to Poland on Sunday, a day after a surprise trip to Kyiv to meet with President Volodymr Zelenskyy.
The American legislators assessed Ukraine's needs for the next phase of the war, with Pelosi vowing that Washington would stand with the country until it defeats Russia.
Pelosi, a California Democrat who is second in line to the presidency after the vice president, was the most senior American lawmaker to visit Ukraine since Russia's war began more than two months ago.
Her previously unannounced visit came just days after Moscow bombed the Ukrainian capital while the UN secretary-general was there.
Pelosi and a half-dozen US lawmakers met for three hours late on Saturday with Zelenskyy and his top aides to get a first-hand assessment of the war effort to date.
Speaking to reporters Sunday
in Poland, the delegation members were unanimous in praising Ukraine's defences so far, in painting the battle of one as good against evil and in assuring continued longterm US military, humanitarian and economic support.
"We were proud to convey to him the message of unity from the Congress of the United States, a message of appreciation from the American people for his leadership and admiration for the people of Ukraine for their courage," Pelosi said.
Their visit came two days after US President Joe Biden asked Congress for $33 billion to bolster Ukraine's fight against Russia, more than twice the size of the initial $13.6 billion aid measure that Congress enacted early last month and now is almost drained.
With the war dragging into its third month, the measure was designed to signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin that US weaponry and other forms of assistance
weren't going away.