Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pictured meeting Joe Biden as he arrives in the US for a secretive visit that will see the US pledge another $1.85 billion to the war effort. It is the first international visit Mr Zelensky has undertaken since Vladimir Putin invaded his country in February this year.
The visit comes as lawmakers are preparing to vote on a year-end spending package that includes about $45 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine, and as the US prepares to send Patriot surface-to-air missiles to help stave off Russia’s invasion.
He was met by Mr Biden and First Lady Jill Biden as he arrived at The White House – having not met them in person since Russia invaded Ukraine.
In his meeting with the US president, Mr Zelensky told him he was “a great honour” to be there, thanking Mr Biden at the “ordinary people” of America for their support.
The Ukrainian president then gave Mr Biden a medal.
Mr Biden said the Ukrainian people have “inspired the world” with their courage and resilience, adding: “Mr Zelensky, the United States stands with the people of Ukraine, we stand with you, you’ve been a great leader.”
After their meeting, the pair will hold a joint news conference.
The Ukraine president is set to tell House of Congress politicians – some of whom are opposed to taxpayer money being sent to the war-torn country – that Vladimir Putin’s threat remains high. Politicians both in the Ukrainian president’s party and the opposition agree that Ukraine continues to need military support to stave off the invaders.
The huge package Congress is preparing to vote on would represent the biggest American infusion of assistance yet to Ukraine, above even Biden’s $37 billion emergency request, and would ensure that funding flows to the war effort for months to come.
Donald Trump Jr took the opportunity to insult the Ukrainian president, branding him an “ungrateful international welfare queen” as Mr Zelensky attempts to secure the military support many experts have deemed essential to Ukraine’s continued survival.
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Zelenskyy said on his Twitter account that the visit, his first known trip outside his country since the war began in February, was “to strengthen resilience and defence capabilities” of Ukraine and to discuss cooperation with the States.
The highly sensitive trip took place after 10 months of a brutal war that has seen tens of thousands of casualties on both sides and devastation for thousands of civilians.
Zelensky’s arrival in Washington, which was carried out under a cloak of secrecy, came as Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, proposed increasing the size of the Russian military to 1.5 million service members.
The original target was 1.15 million.
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Mr Zelensky headed abroad after making a daring and dangerous trip on Tuesday to what he called the hottest spot on the 800-mile front line of the war, the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s contested Donetsk province.
He praised Ukrainian troops for their “courage, resilience and strength” as artillery boomed in the background.
Poland’s private broadcaster, TVN24, said this morning that Mr Zelensky crossed into Poland on his way to Washington. The station showed footage of what appeared to be Mr Zelensky arriving at a train station and being escorted to a motorcade.
TVN24 said the video, partially blurred for security reasons, was shot in Przemysl, a Polish border town that has been the arrival point for many refugees fleeing the war.