Prior to going to the White House for his meeting with President Joe Biden yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with a bipartisan group of senators on Capitol Hill where he lobbied for Ukraine to be allowed to bomb anywhere in Russia it wants with Western-supplied long range missiles. According to The Hill, he claimed he could bring Russia to the negotiating table next year if the Biden administration speeds up shipments of weapons to Ukraine and greenlights missile strikes deeper into Russia. In a closed-door meeting that lasted about 90 minutes, Zelenskyy told senators that he needs more F-16 fighter jets and long-range missiles with capability to strike more than 100 miles into Russia, promising that Russian President Vladimir Putin would negotiate a peace deal if his own country faces a greater military threat, The Hill reported. Apparently, neither Zelenskyy nor the senators had heard Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement just the day before on draft changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine.
John Cornyn (R-TX), in particular, bought into Zelenskyy’s fairy tale that war means peace. “If we were to give them the authorities to use the weapons the way they want and deliver them on a timely basis, I think President Zelenskyy believes this war has a better chance of being resolved at the negotiating table,” he said.
However, not all in the Congress were happy to see him. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) did not meet with Zelenskyy as he’s still angry over the Ukrainian president’s visit to the Scranton Army Ammunition plant on Sept. 22, which had all the appearances of a campaign event on behalf of Kamala Harris. Even Cornyn thought the Scranton visit was a bad idea. “I think he got some bad advice, and Ukraine needs all the friends it can get,” he said.
According to a report in the New York Times, Zelenskyy’s reception on Capitol Hill was “muted” compared to past occasions. “Mr. Zelenskyy is widely regarded as Ukraine’s most persuasive advocate, gifted in his ability to cut through partisan congressional gridlock with appeals to speed weapons and other supplies to Kyiv,” said the Times. “But as the war against Russia drags on, his star power in Washington has noticeably faded, with potentially dire consequences for the future of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine.”
Aside from the Senate meeting, which also included Senators Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell, the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate, Zelenskyy also met with about a dozen members of the House, among them Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
