Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke by Zoom today to a closed gathering of 280 members of the U.S. House and Senate today. While not using the term “no-fly zone,” since it is now clear that such a policy would mean war with Russia, likely nuclear war, Zelenskyy nonetheless called for NATO countries to “close the skies or give us planes,” according to the Washington Post’s account from members of COngress who attended. He also called for a “worldwide ban on the purchase of Russian oil,” according to reports, which would result in short order to a total collapse of the European economy. He called for isolating the Russian economy as thoroughly as possible, including shutting down the Visa and Mastercard payment networks there.
He also called for Congress to approve President Biden’s request for $10 billion in aid for Ukraine, which the Post reports “appears to have bipartisan support but could get mired in other funding fights.” Chuck Schumer said in a statement that he would help the Biden administration with granting what he called Zelensky’s “desperate plea” for Eastern European countries to provide Russian-made planes.
