Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via Getty
House SpeakerNancy Pelosimet with PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyyin Kyiv Saturday during a surprise visit to Ukraine amidthe country’s ongoing war with Russia.
Second in line for the presidency after the vice president, Pelosi, 82, is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Ukraine since Russia invaded in late February.
“You all are welcome,” Zelenskyy told the U.S. officials.
The president awarded Pelosi with the Order of Princess Olga for “her significant personal contribution to strengthening Ukrainian-American interstate cooperation and supporting sovereign, independent and democratic Ukraine,“according to a statement from his office.
The trip was not revealed until after the congressional delegation had safely left Ukraine,according to the AP. Details of how and when the lawmakers traveled into and out of the country were also not disclosed.
“Our discussion centered around the subjects at hand, as you would suspect: security, humanitarian assistance, economic assistance and eventually rebuilding when victory is won,” Pelosi saidduring a press conference in Polandof meeting with Zelenskyy.
“We were proud to convey to him a message of unity from the Congress of the United States, a message of appreciation from the American people for his leadership and admiration to the people of Ukraine for their courage.”
Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via Getty
A spokesman for Pelositold CNNthe lawmakers spent three hours in Kyiv before they traveled to Poland, where they met with President Andrzej Duda and other Polish officials as well as American troops stationed there with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.
“On behalf of Congress and the Country, we conveyed our pride and appreciation for their patriotic service to our nation Pelosi,“said in a statementof meeting with U.S. troops.
“It is with great sorrow that we come here,” Pelosi said in Poland. “With great pride, we leave with a firmer understanding and more current understanding of what needs to be done — with a deeper appreciation and inspiration from those who are in this fight.”
Russia’sattack on Ukrainecontinues after their forces launched a large-scale invasion on Feb. 24 — the first major land conflict in Europe in decades.
More than 5.5 million have fled the country as refugees — and half are children,according to the United Nations. Millions more have been displaced inside Ukraine.
With NATO forces amassed in the region, various countries are offering aid or military support to the resistance. Zelenskyy has called for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.
Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy vowed not to bend.
“Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,“he told the European Unionin a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
source: people.com
