Ukraine’s leader heads to US for first foreign trip

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Washington to meet US President Joe Biden on Wednesday, the White House has confirmed.

It’s his first foreign trip since the Russian invasion in February.

The US has also confirmed it will supply Ukraine with a Patriot missile battery, significantly increasing the country’s air defense capability.

Zelensky will also address Congress and hold a number of bilateral meetings.

“On my way to the US to strengthen resilience and defense capabilities of Ukraine,” he wrote on Twitter.

Zelensky regularly hosts foreign leaders in the capital, Kyiv, and has visited troops around Ukraine. He made an unannounced visit to the front-line city of Bakhmut on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian president has also spoken frequently to world leaders over the telephone and by video call – often from his office in Kyiv.

But an unannounced visit to a foreign country marks a first since the war began, and also signals the importance of Ukraine’s relationship with the US which has played a leading role in providing military support.

In a letter on Tuesday, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged members of Congress to be in attendance on Wednesday night.

“Please be present for a very special focus on democracy,” she wrote, without giving further details.

In its briefing ahead of Zelensky’s visit, the White House also confirmed a new package of nearly $2bn (£1.6bn) of security assistance for Ukraine.

In terms of overall spending on direct military support since the start of the conflict, the US has committed far more than any other country.

Agencies