Secret f leet brought Zelensky to US to make aid appeal
A SECRET fleet of Nato surveillance planes and fighters escorted Volodymyr Zelensky to Washington for a historic speech to Congress last night.
The Ukrainian president boarded a Boeing C-40 Clipper belonging to the US Air Force in the cloak-and-dagger operation to avoid the Russians sabotaging his first foreign trip of the war.
After privately confirming the trip last Friday, Mr Zelensky crossed into Poland early yesterday by train before being taken to an airport in Rzeszów where he boarded the Clipper for the flight
‘Your money is an investment’
to Maryland in the US. A German Boeing Awacs spy plane ensured safe navigation over the North Sea, which is patrolled by Russian submarines. A USAF F-15 fighter jet took off from a UK base to act as an escort.
Under US Secret Service protection, Mr Zelensky was taken to Washington to meet US president Joe Biden in the Oval Office and to address a joint session of Congress to appeal for more aid and rally support for his fight for ‘life, freedom and security’.
Republicans are set to seize control of the House of Representatives on January 3 and some of them have expressed concern about the billions of dollars pumped into Ukraine by Biden.
Mr Zelensky told the packed joint session: ‘Your money is not charity. It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.’
He added that ‘Russian tyranny had lost’ and his own country was ‘alive and well’.
Near the end of his speech, he presented House speaker Nancy Pelosi with a Ukrainian battle flag he had been given on a visit to Bakhmut, where Kyiv’s forces are confronting an incessant Russian offensive. Ms Pelosi leaned over from the rostrum and gave Mr Zelensky a kiss on the cheek.
He said: ‘They asked me to bring this flag to you, to the US Congress, to members of the House of Representatives and senators – whose decisions can save millions of people.
Of Bakhmut, he said: ‘Every inch of their land is soaked in blood.’
At the White House, Mr Biden announced another €1.75billion in military aid, including a Patriot air defence system to help Kyiv ward off Russian missiles. Months in the making, Mr Zelensky’s surprise visit was first suggested by Ms Pelosi in October during a summit in Zagreb.
In previous calls, he had indicated to Mr Biden and other senior officials that the US was the first country he wanted to visit when the time was right for him to travel, an official suggested.
Mr Zelensky’s ten-hour visit, which also included a joint White House news conference, came together quickly.
After the two presidents discussed the trip on December 11, the White House extended a formal invitation on December 14, according to the senior administration official. Mr Zelensky accepted the invitation last Friday, and the visit was confirmed two days later, at which point White House officials notified Ms Pelosi’s office of his travel plans.
The Ukrainian president crossed into Poland early on Wednesday, according to Poland’s private broadcaster, TVN24, arriving at a train station in Przemysl, a border town and the arrival point for many refugees fleeing the war.
Accompanied by the US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, Mr Zelensky was transported in a US Embassy vehicle to an airport in Rzeszów, where he boarded a flight at 8.15am local time that landed at Joint Base Andrews shortly after noon on Wednesday.
He was on board a US Air Force jet – a government plane typically used for dignitaries below the president and vice president.
The White House didn’t publicly announce the visit until 1am Wednesday – waiting until they felt he was safely out of Ukraine.
To ensure safe navigation over the North Sea, a Boeing Airborne Warning and Control spy plane was sent from Germany.
When Mr Zelensky passed over Britain, he was joined by a US Air Force F-15 fighter jet which took off from an airbase in the UK as part of the secret escort mission.
Mr Zelensky used his visit to thank US leaders and ‘ordinary Americans’ for their support.
‘All of their land is soaked in blood’