“And now, democracies around the world are lucky to have you as our champion,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Tuesday when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Canada’s parliament via video link. Zelensky received a 3-minute standing ovation.
Today Zelensky will address the U.S. Congress to advocate for substantially more military aid for fighting off the Russian invasion, including air defense equipment and especially aircraft. Zelenky is making a virtual tour of Western capitols seeking more military aid.
Defenders’ endurance against overwhelming odds “would have been difficult without your efforts,” Zelenskiy said in addressing leaders of the Joint Expeditionary Force* nations Tuesday, but “we need more.”
How much more? Zelensky was blunt (Interfax-Ukraine, emphasis mine):
“Our people take trophies, we capture Russian equipment day and night. We take everything on the battlefield and send it back into battle. They even made the old Soviet equipment combat-ready, which did not work for us, and everything that we receive from you. But the volume that you give… for one week we use in 20 hours. We have so many occupiers, our military calls them locusts. For each person – 20-30 of their people, for one of our tanks – 100 of them,” he said.
U.S. President Joe Biden, presumably speaking for NATO, has repeatedly rejected imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine as provocative and escalatory. The U.S. has also opposed providing Polish MiG fighters to Ukraine via a U.S. air base in Europe. That will not keep Zelensky from making his pitch again directly to Congress today at 9 a.m. Eastern (Washington Post):
Zelenky has proved to be a capable and inspiring leader, with an ability to prompt outpourings of global support. And he has shown himself willing to simultaneously rally and shame world leaders who he believes are not offering sufficient support in Ukraine’s war with Russia.
“Can you blame him for that?” said Igor Novikov, a former Zelensky adviser. “He’s a collective portrait of the Ukrainian people, and the Ukrainian people are suffering greatly at the moment. And a lot of the horrific damage to our country and to the lives of our people could have been prevented — and can still be prevented — by closing down our airspace, by providing us with proper antiaircraft systems and by providing us with the necessary support.”
[…]
Addressing European leaders at the beginning of the month, Zelensky’s appeal was so emotional that his English-language interpreter briefly choked up. A week later, when he addressed the British Parliament, Zelensky made a similarly moving pitch, echoing a refrain from an oration that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered during World War II.
Even as he tries to hold off Russian assaults, Zelensky sees more room for compromise in recent Russian statements (The Guardian):
“The meetings continue, and, I am informed, the positions during the negotiations already sound more realistic. But time is still needed for the decisions to be in the interests of Ukraine,” Zelenskiy said in a video address early on Wednesday.
“Efforts are still needed, patience is needed,” he said. “Any war ends with an agreement.”
The leading Ukrainian negotiator, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, said there were “fundamental contradictions” between the two sides but added that “there is certainly room for compromise.”
Ukraine’s fierce determination and endurance against the Russian assault has defied expectations as much as Putin’s military has disappointed him. There seem to be few avenues for Putin to withdraw without being weakened himself short of crushing Ukraine and toppling Zelensky, but time may be against him, says one Western expert (Sky News):
The next 10 days will decide the war in Ukraine, according to a highly respected retired US general.
Writing for the Centre for European Policy Analysis, Lt Gen Ben Hodges has concluded that “the Russians are in trouble, and they know it”, writes our correspondent Alistair Bunkall.
“Russian generals are running out of time, ammunition, and manpower,” he assessed.
“The Russians are experiencing ammunition shortages. Their transition to attrition warfare is driving up consumption rates beyond what they had planned and what they can sustain.”
While a majority of Russians may believe the government’s narrative about Nazis running Ukraine, a high-visibility protest this week suggests opposition inside Russia is building despite Putin’s efforts to control information there. Thousands of Russians who fear martial law and an economic disaster are traveling to Uzbekistan to evade conscription, Al Jazeera reports. “About 25,000 moved to Georgia, while others fled to Armenia, Turkey or Nordic states such as Finland.”
How much additional pressure Zelensky can apply via U.S. aid we may know in minutes.
It’s 9 a.m. ET and show time.
* The Joint Expeditionary Force includes the U.K, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Holland, Sweden and Norway.
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