Newsman: — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has led a Congressional delegation to Kyiv to meet with Ukraine’s president before heading to Poland for talks with officials there. “Our delegation traveled to Kyiv to send an unmistakable and resounding message to the entire world: America stands firmly with Ukraine,” Pelosi said in a statement released Sunday. Zelenskyy’s office released images and video of the surprise visit on Sunday morning.
Pelosi said in a statement posted to the speaker’s website that the trip was meant “to send an unmistakable and resounding message to the entire world: America stands firmly with Ukraine.”
Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat and second in line to the presidency after the vice president, is the highest-ranking American leader who visited Ukraine since the start of the war. her visit marks a major show of continuing support for the country’s struggle against Russia.
“We are visiting you to say thank you for your fight for freedom,” Pelosi said during a meeting with Ukrainian officials, according to a video posted to Zelenskyy’s official Telegram account early Sunday. “Your fight is a fight for everyone, and so our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done.”
Zelenskyy “conveyed the clear need for continued security, economic and humanitarian assistance from the United States to address the devastating human toll taken on the Ukrainian people by Putin’s diabolic invasion,” Pelosi said, “and our delegation proudly delivered the message that additional American support is on the way as we work to transform President Biden’s strong funding request into a legislative package.”
Zelenskyy said he was “very grateful for this powerful signal of support.”
“This shows that the United States today is a leader in strong support for Ukraine during the war against the aggression of the Russian Federation,” Zelenskyy said
“You all are welcome,” Zelenskyy told the delegation.
Pelosi told Zelenskyy: “We believe that we are visiting you to say thank you for your fight for freedom.”
“We are on a frontier of freedom and your fight is a fight for everyone. Our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done,” Pelosi added.
Pelosi is now the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Ukraine during the war, with the surprise visit adding to the growing momentum behind the West’s support for the country’s fight against Russia. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with Zelenskyy last Sunday and made fresh promises of military and diplomatic support.
Speaking to reporters Sunday in Poland, Pelosi said the delegation that met with Zelenskyy was “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.”
She added that she was “dazzled” by Zelenskyy’s expertise on all the issues at hand and described him at their meeting as “a remarkable masterclass of leadership.”
The full Congressional delegation included Democratic Reps. Gregory Meeks of New York who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Adam Schiff, of California who chairs the House Intelligence Committee; Jim McGovern of Massachusetts who chairs the House Rules Committee; Jason Crow of Colorado; Barbara Lee of California; and Bill Keating of Massachusetts.
The delegation will now travel to Poland to meet with President Andrzej Duda, it said, adding that the trip would help inform coming legislation meant to further support for Ukraine.
President Joe Biden asked Congress on Thursday for an additional $33 billion in Ukraine aid.
The trip comes as Moscow’s refocused military campaign in Ukraine’s east struggles to make significant gains, and as Kyiv’s allies step up with increasing military supplies, with both sides appearing to be settling in for a prolonged conflict.
