Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky made a trip to Washington on Thursday meeting President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a bid to keep aid flowing to his country.
McCarthy rejected Zelensky’s pleas for a joint address to Congress but with the Ukrainian president behind closed doors.
“When this was started, you said to me, Ukraine, stay unified and stay strong,” Zelensky told skeptical lawmakers.
“I’m coming back and saying to the United States: stay unified and stay strong.”
Zelensky started the busy day meeting House leaders on Capitol Hill before joining senators in the Old Senate Chamber.
“Zelensky asked us for a Joint Session and we just didn’t have time,” McCarthy told reporters.
The House Speaker said that meeting the Ukrainian leader did not change his stance on the $24 billion aid package to the struggling country but said the encounter answered questions about the status of the ongoing war.
