DESPERATE UKRAINIANS BEG U.S.
Zelenskyy thanks Congress in call, says more aid is urgently needed
Beleaguered Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a plea Saturday to Congress for a much-needed boost in military aid as Russian President Vladimir Putin ramped up the rhetoric 10 days into his nation’s ongoing military invasion.
Zelenskyy’s appeal came as a source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a united Congress has pledged to ensure delivery of a $10 billion emergency request from the White House for war-rattled Ukraine.
Putin ripped into Ukrainian leadership and laid the blame for the deadly conflict at their feet even as a ceasefire in the port city of Mariupol collapsed and Russian forces advanced on a third of the nation’s four nuclear power plants.
And he denounced Western sanctions that are tanking both the Russian economy and its currency as “akin to declaring war” before backing off a bit.
“Thank God, we haven’t got there yet,” he said as Russian troops once again surrounded and shelled cities while the number of Ukrianians fleeing their country hit 1.4 million.
The Ukrainian president offered his own take on the fighting: “We’re inflicting losses on the occupants they could not see in their worst nightmare.”
Zelenskyy (opposite page), who has survived several assassination attempts since the invasion, addressed more than 300 members of the Senate and the House and congressional aides on the secure Zoom call to thank the U.S. for its assistance and call for even more.
“President Zelenskyy made a desperate plea for Eastern European countries to provide Russian-made planes to Ukraine,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (inset below) in a statement. “These planes are very much needed. And I will do all I can to help the administration to facilitate their transfer.” Schumer (D-N.Y.) told Zelenskyy how the U.S. lawmakers were inspired by the president and by the strength and courage of the Ukrainian people, according to another person on the call who spoke on condition of anonymity.
But the Ukrainian leader and those people faced an increasingly bleak task against the Russian military might, with The Associated Press reporting doctors treating the wounded by the light of their cell phones and mothers mourning their slain children.
The talks weren’t without technical hiccups as Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) made such a commotion that he was admonished to mute himself so that Zelenskyy could speak.
Putin, speaking Saturday, hinted the worst could lie ahead.
“If they continue to do what they are doing, they are calling into question the future of Ukrainian statehood,” said Putin, laying the blame for the violence on the out-manned people under siege. “And if this happens, it will be entirely on their conscience.”
The Kyiv Independent news outlet reported Zelenskyy called on his country to continue its fight for independence unabated even as a Russian armored column sat poised outside the capital city. “Every meter of our Ukrainian land won by protest and humiliation of the occupiers is a step forward, towards victory,” he declared while Kyiv’s central train station was packed with residents eager to find a safe haven.
“People just want to live,” said one woman waiting at the station.
A video released by the Ukrainian government showed residents in the city of Chernihiv cheering as a Russian military plane crashed nearby, while people in Mariupol came under attack despite a promised Russian pause in the bombing.
Mayor Vadym Boychencko said the Russian shelling began Saturday as residents were gathering for safe passage out of the area despite assurance of a pause in the onslaught. “We value the life of every inhabitant of Mariupol and we cannot risk it,” he said on Ukrainian television. “So we stopped the evacuation.”
Russian troops were also advancing on a third Ukrainian nuclear power plant after already seizing control of two others, leaving only the nation’s fourth plant beyond their reach, and took command of the southern port city of Kherson last week.
During the earlier phone call, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) asked Zelenskyy if an oil boycott would help, a move that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) strongly endorsed earlier in the week. The Ukrainian president supported the proposal, according to a senior Senate aide.
President Biden has been reluctant to reduce Russian oil shipments to the U.S. as gas prices at the pump are already spiking across the county. The White House has said all tools remain on the table.
The two warring nations, despite the ongoing battles across Ukraine, plan a third found of talks Monday over the crisis, the same day as the UN Security Council scheduled a meeting on the situation.
Diplomatic efforts also continued Saturday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken landing in Poland to meet with local leaders one day after joining a NATO meeting in Brussels.
The death toll from the fighting remained hard to gauge, with the UN Human Rights Council reporting more than 350 civilians were killed. The Russian military reported nearly 500 fatalities this past Wednesday.