Roving Periscope: Seeking support, Putin goes to Belarus, Zelensky to the US
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Frustrated over Russia’s failure to tame Ukraine despite shelling it relentlessly for 10 months, President Vladimir Putin asked his reluctant soldiers to do more and sought ally Belarus to open a second front, as his rival President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the US to bolster support to Kyiv to push back Moscow’s forces ahead of the new year beginning next Sunday.
Early this week, an ailing Putin himself traveled to Belarus seeking military support from its President Alexander Lukashenko as Moscow no longer trusted its own soldiers to push back the spirited Ukrainian citizen-soldiers in their country’s eastern areas which Russia annexed in September. According to reports, Belarus, however, seemed reluctant to directly commit its armed forces in an inconclusive, long-drawn-out, and expensive war.
Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy, in his first overseas visit since February 24, pressed the US Congress for tanks, planes, and more money to help repel Russia’s invasion, portraying the war as a battle of democracy against tyranny as he sought to win support from some skeptical Republican lawmakers.
He told a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday evening that US support had been crucial so far and predicted the year ahead will turn the tide in the war. He called for more sanctions and demanded that Russians responsible for the war be brought to justice.
“Your support is crucial, not just to stand in such a fight, but to get to the turning point to win on the battlefield,” Zelenskyy said in a 27-minute speech that was repeatedly punctuated by standing ovations by lawmakers from both parties. “Your money is not charity, it’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.”
The speech, delivered after Zelenskyy met at the White House with President Joe Biden, was aimed as much at ordinary people around the US and the world as it was at the lawmakers present. The applause was loud and raucous, befitting the broad bipartisan support Zelenskyy has garnered, even as Republicans, who are set to take control of the House of Representatives next month, promised tougher scrutiny of the aid going to Ukraine, the media reported.
As a sign of America’s support, the Biden administration announced USD 1.85 billion in additional military aid to Ukraine on Wednesday, including a Patriot missile battery to help the country bolster its defenses. At the White House, Biden told Zelenskyy the American people were with him “every step of the way,” and “we will stay with you for as long as it takes.”
That Zelenskyy made the visit — conducted under heavy security and requiring a train journey to Poland to avoid flying in Ukrainian airspace and risk being shot down — underscores the increasing urgency to secure more weapons and money to fund the conflict.
“If your Patriots stop the Russian terror against our cities, it will let Ukrainian patriots work to the full to defend our freedom,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the high-tech air defense system Biden promised to send him.
He said Ukraine has artillery and shells but said: “Is it enough? Honestly, not really,” adding, “I assure you that Ukrainian soldiers can perfectly operate American tanks and planes for themselves.” It was a rebuttal to US officials who argued that some advanced weapons would require too much training for Ukrainian troops.
Since the start of the war, with help from the US, NATO members, and other allies, Ukraine has dealt Moscow repeated defeats on the battlefield and driven the Russian troops back from territory first seized when tanks rolled toward Kyiv. But Russia is regrouping, targeting civilian and energy infrastructure, and leaving millions of people without power or heat in the winter. Zelenskyy has repeatedly demanded more weapons than he’s been given so far.
“This struggle will define in what world our children and grandchildren will live in,” he told US lawmakers, addressing them in English, dressed in his familiar olive-green sweatshirt and cargo pants. “It will define whether it will be a democracy for Americans, for Ukrainians, for all.”
At the end of the speech, Zelenskyy turned and gave Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a Ukrainian flag signed by soldiers he’d met a day ago on the front lines. In exchange, Pelosi gave him a folded US flag that had flown Wednesday above the US capitol in honor of his country.
Before Zelenskyy touched down in Washington, Putin vowed that there would be “no limitations” on military spending for the war. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu said Moscow would expand its army by more than a quarter to 1.5 million men for its military aims in Ukraine.
