What Zelenskyy and Biden said in Washington following talks
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Joe Biden in Washington on December 21, 2022 (Photo:Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Facebook)
The White House hosted a historic meeting between Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Joe Biden on Dec. 21.
NV is publishing the highlights of the two presidents’ remarks during the following joint press conference.
Joe Biden
Ukraine will never stand alone. We’re going to give Ukraine what it needs to be able to defend itself, to be able to succeed, and succeed in the battlefield.
Russia is using winter as a weapon — freezing people, starving people, cutting them off from one another. It’s the latest example of the outrageous atrocities that Russian forces are committing against innocent Ukrainian civilians — children and their families. And the winter is setting in, and Putin is increasingly going after civilian targets and women and children, orphanages.
Today, I’m announcing the next tranche of our security assistance to Ukraine: $1.85 billion package of security assistance that includes both direct transfers of equipment to — that Ukraine needs, as well as contracts to supply ammunition Ukraine will need in the months ahead for its artillery, its tanks, and its rocket launchers. It will include the Patriot missile defense system. And I look forward to signing the omnibus — omnibus bill soon, which includes $45 billion — $45 billion in additional funding for Ukraine.
We share the exact same vision, and that a free, independent, prosperous, and secure Ukraine is the vision. It is up to Zelenskyy to decide how the war unleashed by Russia will end.
Putin is going to fail. He’s already failed, because he now knows that there’s no way he’s ever going to occupy all of Ukraine. There’s no way in which he’s going to be accepted by the Ukrainian people.
I don’t think we should underestimate the impact this war is having on Russia and the losses they’re suffering. And you saw just Putin saying that this is much tougher than he thought.
Putin thought he could break NATO. He thought he could break the West. He thought he could break the Alliance. He thought he could be welcomed by the Ukrainian people that were Russian-speaking. He was wrong, wrong, and wrong. He continues to be wrong. And the sooner he makes it — it’s clear that he cannot possibly win this war, that’s when — the time we have to put the — this President in a position to be able to decide how he wants the war to end. NATO and the EU have never been so united on any issue.
They understand it fully, but they’re not looking to go to war with Russia. They’re not looking for a third World War. And I think it can all be avoided by making sure that Ukraine is able to succeed in the battlefield.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
In the last 300 days of this war, we have started a new phase of our interrelations with the United States. We became real partners and allies.
The strongest element of this package is the Patriot battery systems, something that will strengthen our air defense significantly. This is a very important step to create a secure airspace for Ukraine.
Regardless of changes in Congress, I believe that there will be bipartisan and bicameral support.
It is very important that we have the peace formula. And for that, we offer very specific steps — what America can do to help us to implement them. We propose global formula for peace summit.
A just peace is no compromises as to the sovereignty, freedom, and territorial integrity of my country, the payback for all the damages inflicted by Russian aggression.
As a father, I would like to emphasize: You know how many parents lost their sons or daughters on the frontlines? There can’t be any just peace in the war that was imposed on us by these “in humans”.
Putin is not a subject of civilized people. He should be interested in trying to save something of his culture and history of his country. So that’s his problem now.
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On Dec. 21, the President of Ukraine arrived in the United States to meet with his U.S. counterpart and address the U.S. legislature This is Zelenskyy’s first foreign visit since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia. Earlier that day, Washington announced $1.85 billion in aid to Ukraine, which for the first time includes Patriot surface-to-air anti-air systems.
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