Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday told Congress that thanks to US military aid “Russian tyranny has lost control over us” — while casting his resistance to Vladimir Putin’s 300-day invasion as an essential global fight for freedom.
“Against all odds and doom and gloom scenarios, Ukraine didn’t fall. Ukraine is alive and kicking,” the 44-year-old leader said in an English-language speech after he was welcomed to the Capitol with a rousing and bipartisan standing ovation.
“Next year will be a turning point. I know it — the point when Ukrainian courage and American resolve must guarantee the future of our common freedom,” Zelensky told House and Senate members in a primetime address.
Zelensky said that in four days “millions” of Ukrainians will celebrate Christmas without electricity and running water due to recent Russia airstrikes, but that his country would go on to win “absolute victory” — quoting FDR’s similar vow to Congress in December 1941 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
“Merry Christmas and happy victorious new year,” Zelensky concluded his 23-minute speech to roaring applause, after saying, “We’ll celebrate Christmas — and even if there is no electricity, the light of our faith in ourselves will not be put out.”
Zelensky spoke after meeting with President Biden at the White House and then co-hosting a press conference, where Biden said he would not grant some of his counterpart’s weapons requests because they could result in “breaking up NATO and breaking up the European Union.” --->READ MORE HERE
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As Russian cruise missiles sped towards their target this month, a Ukrainian pilot gave chase in an old Soviet MiG-29 fighter jet and locked onto two of them, but could not take the shot: they were nearing a large town and it was too risky.
He said he passed the targets on to Ukraine's ground-based air defences which shot them down, as they have done hundreds of missiles since October, blunting the impact of a Russian air campaign that aims to destroy the country's power grid.
"Fortunately for us, they succeeded," the 29-year-old pilot, whose codename is Juice, told Reuters, describing the Dec. 5 incident.
Such skirmishes are common in the skies over Ukraine, and their outcomes have a direct bearing on the lives of millions of people who are left without heat, power or running water during the freezing winter if defences fail.
Ukraine calls the attacks a war crime, aimed at cowing innocent civilians. Russia says the electricity grid is a legitimate military target in its "special operation".
The Pentagon has said Russia's missile strikes are partly designed to exhaust Kyiv's supplies of air defences and finally achieve dominance of the skies above the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy travelled to Washington on Wednesday to seek "weapons, weapons and more weapons", including a Patriot missile battery that would shore up the country's defences against incoming missiles and drones.
The attacks on energy targets disrupt everyday life, including vital services like hospitals and schools, and threaten to further cripple the economy. It is already set to shrink by at least a third this year, as shops and heavy industry struggle to keep the lights on.
Russia has launched nine, large-scale air attacks - usually firing more than 70 missiles at a time - since Oct. 10, knocking out power, running water, mobile signals and heating.
Ukraine's record of downing missiles has ranged from around 50% to as much as 85%, with more recent attacks coming closer to the higher end, according to Reuters calculations based on Ukrainian data. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:
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