Zelensky arrives in Washington as time runs out to push Congress for more aid

Joe Biden wants to help win the war against Russia but the clock is ticking on persuading a reluctant Congress, as Andrew Feinberg explains

Zelensky with the head of the IMF in Washington on Monday (AFP via Getty)

Volodymyr Zelensky is in Washington – his third visit this year – in a last-ditch effort to convince reluctant Republicans they should support Joe Biden’s request for a $105bn bill to fund extra defence for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as US-Mexico border enforcement.

A year ago, it would have been unthinkable to question whether Congress would be willing to spend whatever was necessary to bolster the defensive efforts of President Zelensky’s government, which since February 2022 has been fighting off a Russian invading force and pushing to reclaim other territory that Moscow illegally seized during its’ unlawful annexation of Crimea nearly ten years ago.

At the time, Mr Zelensky was perhaps best known to many Americans as the comedian-turned-politician who in 2019 was blackmailed by then-president Donald Trump, who attempted to withhold defence aid unless Mr Zelensky announced a sham investigation into Mr Biden and his son Hunter.