Biden calls Zelensky to White House amid new push to convince lawmakers for Kyiv aid

Visit comes days after Ukrainian president cancelled his virtual address to US Senate where he would have appealed for fresh aid for war

Joe Biden has invited Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House for a meeting on Tuesday during which he is expected to speak to the war-time president about the “vital importance” of continued efforts from the US on the defence front.

The two leaders will discuss the “urgent needs” facing Ukraine as it remains under siege for more than 22 months, a statement from the White House said.

Mr Zelensky is set to arrive in Washington on Monday and will meet his US counterpart during the working visit as he will sit in “a series of meetings and discussions”, his office said.

He is also invited to address US senators on Tuesday in the Capitol, a Senate leadership aide said on Sunday.

The Ukrainian president will also hold a private meeting with US House of Representatives speaker Mike Johnson in the Capitol on Tuesday, according to the latter’s spokesperson Raj Shah.

The visit comes days after the Ukrainian president unexpectedly cancelled his virtual address to the US Senate where he would have appealed for fresh aid for the war in Ukraine.

Kyiv’s calls for multi-billion dollar military funding have been rejected by the Congress, leaving Ukraine out in the cold. Mr Zelensky has been pleading with his allies in the West for financial and military help against Russian forces as Moscow’s invasion clocked 650 days. The US is now showing signs of fatigue and disapproval for funding the war.

The blockade from the US – Kyiv’s primary ally against Russian invasion for 22 months – spells dangers of Russia’s advance on the battlefield as Moscow’s troops pick up pace after getting military help from North Korea and Iran in recent shipments.

Now as he visits the US, Mr Zelensky will cover key topics like defence cooperation between the US and Ukraine, “particularly through joint projects on the production of weapons and air defence systems, as well as the coordination of efforts between our countries in the coming year," his office said.

After running the aid deal for Ukraine and Israel into a dead-end amid disapproval from the Republicans, the White House is again looking to engage with US lawmakers to strike a bipartisan deal to cover military aid for Ukraine and Israel while also focusing on a pressing domestic demand of tightening US border security.

According to the Republicans, any additional financing for Ukraine can only come if it is paired with major US border security changes. However, a bipartisan group of senators are trying to broker a compromise but without much progress. The US Congress will end in less than a week for a Christmas break.

Senator Chris Murphy said the “White House is going to get more engaged this week” and added that it was important to know if president Biden would sign any prospective deal.

He added that the demands by Republicans on the border security situation were “unreasonable” and that they were “playing games with the security of the world” by connecting the issuance of military aid to the US border security situation.

According to Shalanda Young, director of the White House budget office, failing to aid Ukraine could encourage Russia to expand the conflict to other US allies in Europe.

Ukraine could soon find itself without US help as the clock is ticking on the $106bn funding request from the White House for the wars in Ukraine, Israel, and other security needs without support from Republicans.

The US has already run out of money that it has used to prop up Ukraine’s economy, and “if Ukraine’s economy collapses, they will not be able to keep fighting, full stop”, said Shalanda Young, Office of Management and Budget director, in a letter to House and Senate leaders.