Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for a no-fly zone – unlikely because of the implications of starting a “hot war” with Russia – Polish MiG fighter jets, and the formation of a new international organization he called “U-24” to fight Russian aggression in his live video address to the U.S. Congress Wednesday morning. Zelenskyy evoked the attack on Pearl Harbor and September 11, 2001, saying “Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into death… . Is this a lot to ask for, to create a no-fly zone?”
“Ukraine is grateful to the U.S. for its overwhelming support,” Zelenskyy added, “I am grateful to President Biden for his faithful commitments.”
Closing Quote:
“I’m addressing President Biden. … You are the leader of the nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. It means to be the leader of peace. Slava Ukrain!
What is ‘U-24’?
Zelenskyy did not go into detail, but it obviously would be a way to back Ukraine with some of the 30 European and North American (U.S. and Canada) nations in NATO, and likely to evoke a strong reaction from Russia’s dictator-president, Vladimir Putin.
Republicans React:
In reporter scrums after Zelenskyy’s half-hour address, Republicans, including Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska and House of Representatives Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, criticized Biden for failing to provide the Polish MiGs to Ukraine so the country could protect its own skies. The White House has rejected the transfer of MiGs as an action Putin would consider a NATO/U.S. declaration of war.
More Aid
President Biden will announce today an additional $800 million to support Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself, The Washington Post reports.
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