Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy will address a joint session of Congress at 9AM ET on Wednesday. Zelenskyy, who has not left Kyiv during the three weeks since Ukraine was invaded by Russia, will appear remotely on screens in the Capitol Visitor Center Congressional Auditorium. Only members of Congress and the administration will be present.
Exactly what Zelenskyy will say isn’t known. It’s expected he will ask the United States to step up the volume of military assistance — in a recent appearance, the Ukrainian president said that they were going through what was supposed to be a week’s supply “every 20 hours” — but it’s not known if he will repeat requests for a No-Fly Zone or for the U.S. to provide more complex military systems. So far, the U.S. and other Western nations have provided anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons that are seen as defensive, but balked at providing aircraft or other systems that could be used to initiate attacks.
Late on Tuesday evening in Kyiv, Zelenskyy made an extraordinary address directed at members of the Russian government. Speaking in Russian, he warned that, “Any one of you who has access to truthful information would by now have realized how this war will end for your country: Shame, poverty, long-term isolation, a very cruel, repressive system that will treat citizens of Russia exactly the same way, as inhumanely, as you, the occupiers, have treated Ukrainians.“
He warned those in the Russian government that, “If you remain in your posts, if you don’t come out against the war, the international community will strip you of everything” and told them simply to, “Quit. A few months of unemployment is definitely better for you, than a whole life of international persecution.”
Hopefully the message that President Zelenskyy delivers to the United States on Wednesday morning will be a good deal more friendly, but just as honest and blunt. Daily Kos will follow the speech live
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022 · 12:45:28 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Over the course of the last three weeks, I recognize that I have made heavy use of words like “abhorrent,” and “horrific,” and “heartbreaking.” Unfortunately, those words and others — appalling, ghastly, and agonizing, are full deserved for stories like this one from the Associated Press about conditions inside encircled, besieged, and slowly starving Mariupol.
“The bodies of the children all lie here, dumped into this narrow trench hastily dug into the frozen earth of Mariupol to the constant drumbeat of shelling.
There’s 18-month-old Kirill, whose shrapnel wound to the head proved too much for his little toddler’s body. There’s 16-year-old Iliya, whose legs were blown up in an explosion during a soccer game at a school field. There’s the girl no older than 6 who wore the pajamas with cartoon unicorns, among the first of Mariupol’s children to die from a Russian shell.”
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022 · 1:11:16 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
“In your history, you have pages that allow you to understand Ukrainians. We need you right now. Remember Pearl Harbor … just remember it. Remember September 11 … when innocent people were attacked from the air, you could not stop it. Our country is experiencing the same, every day, every night, for three weeks now.”
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022 · 1:12:56 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
“This is a terror that Europe has not seen for 80 years.” Zelenskyy asks again for a No-Fly Zone. “If this is too much to ask, you know what kind of defense systems we need” mentions an anti-missile system and “aircraft, aircraft that can help Ukraine. We know that you have them.”
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022 · 1:14:56 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
“Ukraine is grateful to the United States for its overwhelming support. … I’m grateful to President Biden for his personal involvement … However, now I call on you to do more. More packages of sanctions are needed every week until the Russian military machine stops … We propose that the United States sanction all politicians in Russia who remain in their offices and do not cut ties with [Putin]”
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022 · 1:18:40 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Zelenskyy proposes to create a new organization, outside NATO, that would intervene in war and provide a similar mutual protection pact, as well as protection for natural disasters. Not clear if this “U24” is an alternative to NATO or a alternative to UN peacekeeping. Hopefully there is a more detailed document describing this proposal.
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022 · 1:20:50 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Zelenskyy shows a heartbreaking video mixing scenes from Ukrainian cities before the war—with families in parks, people going about day to day business—with Russian missiles destroying buildings, the horrors on Ukrainian streets, and the horrible injuries and deaths they are facing.
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022 · 1:23:44 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
“Today it’s not enough to be the leader of a nation, you have to be a leader of the world. … You have to be strong, to fight for the rights of his citizens and the citizens of the world. … We are fighting for the values of Europe and the world. The American people are fighting not just for Ukraine, but for Europe and the world.”
“I’m addressing President Biden … I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means being the leader of peace.”
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022 · 1:30:29 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
And that’s it. As expected, the speech was brief.
Throughout the speech, Zelenskyy made multiple calls to “close the skies over Ukraine” through a No-Fly Zone. That is extremely unlikely to happen, as it represents nothing other than a commitment for the United States to shoot down Russian planes that violate that zone.
However, Zelenskyy also repeated the desire for aircraft, and for the S-300 anti-missile system. Of all these, that last one originally a Soviet system that’s somewhat similar to the U.S. made Patriot missile defense system and can intercept (some) ballistic missiles. Three NATO countries—Bulgaria, Greece and Slovakia—have S-300 systems, some of which have been significantly upgraded. Having the U.S. replace these systems with Patriots, and moving S-300 systems into Ukraine is something is likely to be acceptable to the U.S. and NATO in terms of not stepping over the “defensive weapons only” line.
Both the Patriot and S-300 are large, bulky systems that can be hard to maintain, operate, and resupply. But Ukraine’s familiarity with the system makes it a better option.
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022 · 1:41:43 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
The speech from Zelenskyy is certain to increase pressure on President Biden as Republicans seize the idea that there should be a No-Fly Zone, because they know that’s one thing the U.S. is not going to do. And there’s one answer to how to handle that: Give Ukraine more planes.
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022 · 1:48:39 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
The ever vigilant YouTube, where it’s simple to find all manner of … whatever, has decided that the video from Zelenskyy included images that are too graphic, so they’ve restricted access to the Washington Post coverage that was linked above. The link has been removed pending finding another source.
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