Ukrainian president being portrayed as war time hero by western media

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will make a direct appeal in an address to members of Congress and the United States on Wednesday as Russia continues its assault on Kyiv and President Biden plots a trio of his own to Europe next week.

Exactly three weeks into the war, Zelensky is expected to heap pressure on lawmakers and the public as he continues his push for the United States and its European allies to increase its support militarily for Ukraine as Russian forces continue to make inroads throughout the country.

The address will be Zelensky’s second to members of Congress, having talked to 300 of them during a Zoom call earlier this month. However, the speech marks the first time he will address the American public and make a direct call for help.

On Tuesday, Biden signed into law the year-end government spending bill, which included nearly US$14 billion in humanitarian and military aid for the war-torn nation. The aid, which Congress OK’d last week, comes after Biden barred imports of Russian oil and levied heavy sanctions on the Russian economy. Biden also could be on the verge of announcing an additional US$1 billion in new military aid for Ukraine.

Zelensky is expected to ask for more. His appeal will take place a day after two other speeches to the British Parliament and Canada’s House of Commons, where he pleaded for support for a no-fly zone over his country and requested further assistance in the deadly conflict with Moscow. He also directed questions at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, asking him to imagine what it would be like if Canadians were the ones being attacked.

“Dear Justin ... can you imagine every day you receive memorandums about the number of casualties including women and children? You heard about the bombings. Currently, we have 97 children that died during this war,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky’s pitch to Congress comes amid continued tumult in Kyiv, where the Russian military has continued its assault, including on Tuesday. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that missile strikes killed four more individuals in the Ukrainian capital, having also put the city under a 35-hour curfew amid a “difficult and dangerous” moment.

Adding to the drama in Kyiv, the prime ministers of Poland, Czech Republic and Slovenia became the first world leaders to travel to the city since the fighting began 21 days ago. Petr Fiala, the Czech prime minister, wrote in a Facebook post that the visit was meant to “to confirm the unequivocal support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.” 

As for Biden, the White House announced on Tuesday that he will visit Brussels on March 24 for discussions with European leaders, including a NATO summit and a separate one with the European Council.

“We’ve been incredibly aligned to date,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said of the US cooperation with European nations on the Ukraine situation. “That doesn’t happen by accident. The president is a big believer in face-to-face diplomacy. So it’s an opportunity to do exactly that”.

Meanwhile, the Russian government on Tuesday imposed its own set of sanctions against top U.S. officials, including Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The move blocks the three, among others, from entering Russia. According to Bloomberg News, the Russian Foreign Ministry added that the sanctions would not stand in the way of high-level contacts if needed.