Bloomberg — President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy will make a rare wartime speech about a foreign leader in both houses of the United States Congress, asked US lawmakers for more help as Russian bombs razed their cities to rubble.

Zelenskiy, who emerged from relative anonymity to gain widespread sympathy and raise his global profile, will speak on Wednesday when lawmakers from both sides push to do more to help Ukraine and punish Moscowto the point that the Democrats often break with the White House.

It’s almost certain that Zelenskiy will find a more receptive audience from his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, when he addressed a joint session of Congress in September 2014, months after Russia annexed Crimea.

At the time, Republican Eagles demand that the Obama administration send lethal aid to Ukraine to retake Crimea. But White House refuses amid fears of provoking Russiaonly agree to non-lethal assistance.

“You can’t win a war with a blanket. You can’t keep the peace with blankets,” Poroshenko said at the time, as Vice President Joe Biden sat behind him on the floor of the House.

Nearly eight years later, Zelenskiy will speak, this time virtuallywhile aid arrived in Ukraine.

Last week, Congress sent President Joe Biden a $3.5 billion bill to “replenish supplies of US equipment shipped to Ukraine.” Those are expected to include the delivery of new 105mm mortars and additional Javelin and Stinger anti-armor and anti-aircraft guns, according to people familiar with the matter.

But Zelenskiy will not get all of his requests, including a no-fly zone over his country, which US and NATO allies say it would put them in a provocative position by shooting Russian planes out of the sky.

Despite this weekend’s Russian attack on military training facilities near the Polish borderThe US has not changed its calculations on the no-fly zone.

“What we are going to do is step up and intensify our efforts to provide Ukrainian defenders with the weapons and security assistance they need to defend themselvessaid the national security adviser Jake Sullivan in “Meet the Press” from NBC added that the US was coordinating with allies about additional spending on military aid.

Zelenskiy also wants a Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jet of the few countries still flying them, which would require the US to replenish its stockpile of allied aircraft with more modern F-16s. Administration Biden consistently refuses, despite offers from Poland and several calls in Congress to do so.

The idea, however, taking root in the Capitol.

“We ask for assistance to help facilitate this deal, commit to replenishing our allied fleets with US-made aircraft, and also help advance the transfer of Su-25 aircraft to Ukraine,” it said in a statement. caucus A 58-member bipartisan problem-solving committee this weekend.

revocation status

Biden, who has been consulting with NATO allies on the economic response to the Russian invasion, last week banned imports of Russian oil, vodka, caviar and diamonds. He also called on US lawmakers to join Western allies in revoking the country’s preferential trade status after the invasion of Ukraine.

The president cannot unilaterally remove what is known as “permanent normal trade relations” status for Russia because that authority rests with Congress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House would consider legislation this week to revoke the appointment, a move that had bipartisan support..

Downgrading Russia’s trade status “would make it harder for Russia to do business with the US,” Biden said in remarks at the White House on Friday, adding that “it would be another major blow to the Russian economy.”

historical discourse

Only senators and members of the House of Representatives will attend the speech, which will be projected on a giant screen in the auditorium at the Capitol complex. The House floor, the usual place for shared addresses, does not have the ability to host virtual speeches.

Unlike the previous meeting with legislators, Zelenskiy’s speech will be broadcast live and the broadcast will be sent to television networks.

It is not uncommon for world leaders to speak before Congress when they are in Washington, but wartime speeches are rare.

Mohammad Ashraf Ghaniformer president of Afghanistan, speaking at a joint meeting of Congress in 2015, as did Benjamin NetanyahuPrime Minister of Israel at the time, who supported a strong nuclear deal with Iran.

In May 1957vietnamese president, Ngo Dinh DiemHe spoke to Congress. And the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, delivered perhaps the most famous war speech before Congress in December 1941less than three weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Since 1947, only two other similar speeches have been delivered before members of the House and Senate outside the DPR chamber, according to the DPR historian’s office.

One of which is May 31, 1950, by Dean Acheson, then Secretary of State. The other one is February 1, 1951, by General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Both events are officially called “informal” Congressional meetings.

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This article was translated by Miriam Salazar