On Saturday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made an unannounced visit to Kyiv, becoming the highest-ranking US official to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky since the conflict began more than two months ago.
In a statement released on Sunday, Pelosi’s office acknowledged the travel, claiming that the speaker had led an official congressional delegation to Ukraine, the first since Russia’s invasion.
Nancy Pelosi just met with Zelensky in Kiev. She’s made more of an effort to meet with a fascist in a warzone than help the unhoused people living in tents on the streets of her district. pic.twitter.com/Cywa66J0wk
— 🅹🅾🅴🆈աrecκ ☭ (@joeywreck) May 1, 2022
On Sunday, Zelensky tweeted a video of their meeting in Kyiv, thanking the US for its strong support of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
“We are visiting you to say thank you for your fight for freedom, that we’re on a frontier of freedom and that your fight is a fight for everyone,” Pelosi said to Zelensky in the clip. “And so our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done.”
As the battle in Ukraine continues, the US and its allies are stepping up to provide long-term support.
Zelensky awarded U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi with the Order of Princess Olga for a “significant personal contribution" to strengthening Ukrainian-American cooperation and "supporting sovereign, independent and democratic Ukraine.”
📷President's Office pic.twitter.com/PmDrCd5V1B
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) May 1, 2022
In response to Zelensky’s requests, a group of 40 nations organized by the US in Germany last week agreed to streamline and expedite arms deliveries to Ukraine. “We’ve got to move at the speed of war,” said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who met with Ukraine’s president in Kyiv with Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week.
The House passed legislation on Thursday that would allow Biden to invoke the Lend-Lease Act of 1941, a World War II-era law, to quickly supply Ukraine with weaponry on loan. That provision, which was originally enacted to aid forces battling Hitler, demonstrates Congress’s seriousness in assisting Ukraine’s armed forces.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is in Kyiv meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
A week prior, State Secretary Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stopped by.
📸: President’s Office pic.twitter.com/vBbyKU4N37
— Oleksiy Sorokin (@mrsorokaa) May 1, 2022
As Russia’s violent and unrelenting war enters a new phase, President Joe Biden has requested Congress for a $33 billion supplementary financing bill to help Ukraine over the next few months. Biden also laid out a plan to put more pressure on Russian oligarchs over the crisis in Ukraine, including using seized assets to pay Ukraine’s military.
The package is much greater than the previous proposals, and it is more than twice as large as the $13.6 billion military and humanitarian aid infusion approved by Congress last month.
In his conversation with Pelosi, Zelensky emphasized the significance of financial aid. “The messages that the US and President Biden are sending out today are critical. We are grateful for recent substantial measures in defense and financial support for Ukraine, as well as decisions on Lend-Lease “According to Zelensky.
Nancy Pelosi made an unannounced visit to Ukraine’s capital Saturday, becoming the highest-ranking U.S. official to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky since the war started. She told him, "Our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done." https://t.co/qiefJPVPMt pic.twitter.com/ms1jTh5Fdg
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 1, 2022
Pelosi’s visit to Kyiv, as the second in line to follow Trump as president, demonstrates the highest level of US leadership’s dedication to Ukraine’s assistance.
“Our Congressional Delegation had the solemn opportunity and extraordinary honor of meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top Ukrainian officials in Kyiv,” according to the news release from Pelosi’s office.
“Our delegation conveyed our respect and gratitude to President Zelenskyy for his leadership and our admiration of the Ukrainian people for their courage in the fight against Russia’s oppression.”
Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress Nancy Pelosi met with Vladimir Zelensky in Kiev. pic.twitter.com/3ntmsD5Blr
— Wittgenstein (@backtolife_2022) May 1, 2022
Pelosi was given the “Order of Princess Olga” by Zelensky for her “great personal contribution” to the advancement of Ukrainian-American ties. Olga was the first woman to reign Kievan Rus, an East Slavic monarchy in medieval times. The order that bears her name is given to women who have achieved considerable accomplishment in politics and society, and she is seen as the symbol of female strength in Ukraine.
According to Pelosi’s spokesman Drew Hammill, he also presented Pelosi with a Ukrainian flag signed by him and female members of parliament, including those she visited with recently at the US Capitol.
Nancy Pelosi and team of democrats risk their lives to meet Zelensky in Kyiv this weekend. pic.twitter.com/8I30AWnV1s
— Frank Giugliano (@nyccookies) May 1, 2022
Pelosi was accompanied by a number of other top members of Congress, including Gregory Meeks, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Adam Schiff, the head of the Intelligence Committee, both from New York.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a Ukrainian civil honor — the Order of Princess Olga — following their meeting in Kyiv, a decoration given to women who have made outstanding contributions to the Ukrainian state.https://t.co/Ygpud8S5ha
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 1, 2022
Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s spokesperson, said the team spent slightly over three hours on the ground in Kyiv. The politicians from the United States have arrived in Poland, where they will meet with President Andrzej Duda and other top authorities.
Pelosi told reporters during a news conference in Rzeszow, Poland, on Sunday that her talks with Zelensky focused on security, humanitarian and economic relief, and the eventual restoration of Ukraine.
“We were proud to convey to him a message of unity from the Congress of the US. A message of appreciation from the American people for his leadership and admiration to the people of Ukraine for their courage,” Pelosi said.
“America stands with Ukraine, we stand with Ukraine until victory is won, and we stand with NATO.”
