Zelensky has earned his welcome in Washington – and Biden is right to provide it

Editorial: He could not have made such a visit before because his country was in so much peril

It is nothing less than an investment in the future of the free world (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service)

The visit of Volodymyr Zelensky to meet Joe Biden in Washington is a sign of quiet confidence on the part of the Ukrainian leader. He could not have made such a visit before because his country was in so much peril and he needed to spend every moment in his own land, leading the impressive resistance that the people of Ukraine have organised since the Russian invasion 11 months ago. Indeed, the Kremlin expected Mr Zelensky to leave his country at the start of the Russian offensive but only to flee into exile as his people, supposedly, were welcoming their liberators. Things didn’t quite turn out that way.

Now, at this emotionally charged time of the year, the two presidents will be able to meet at a moment when the fighting has to some extent subsided and the Russian forces have been pushed back. This is thanks in no small part to the supply of weaponry, intelligence and financial support from the West, to which the United States has been by far the largest contributor, and is an achievement that is rightly celebrated by Ukraine and its allies.

Despite reports of some irritation on the part of Mr Biden at Mr Zelensky’s ceaseless lobbying for more arms, America and the West seem as committed as ever to the defence of Ukraine, without resorting to the deployment of Nato forces on the ground. So far, this approach has worked well, and the latest initiative – to supply Patriot air-defence missile systems to Ukraine – is an essential extension of it.

Demoralised and defeated on the battlefield, Vladimir Putin has resorted to a cowardly campaign of terror against Ukraine’s civilian population, sending missiles and drones to destroy homes, hospitals, and the country’s water and energy infrastructure. President Putin’s latest speech to military leaders suggests he has no new tactics to deploy. There is talk of an offensive in the new year, though the weather conditions do not favour such a project, and some speculation that a thrust is being planned involving Belarusian forces from the north, but there is no reason to believe that this is more than bluff, nor that it is any more likely to succeed where last February’s “special military operation” failed so miserably.

Which leaves the continuing attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets. These do not seem to have weakened the resolve of Ukrainians, but instead have tended to strengthen it, because the rockets and drones are constant reminders, as if such is needed, of just how murderous, brutal and uncivilised a Russian occupation would be.

What the Russian attacks do succeed in doing is disrupting Ukraine’s economy, and thus its ability to defend itself, by diverting resources from defence to constant reconstruction. This is why the $33bn (£27bn) in additional US financial assistance to Ukraine is as important as the $2bn worth of advanced air-defence systems. It’s needed now, just in case the new Congress, with a Republican-controlled House of Representatives, is tempted to turn isolationist, abandon Ukraine and appease President Putin.

It is nothing less than an investment in the future of the free world, because the cost of giving up on Ukraine now, with the war half-won, would be incalculably greater. Sooner or later, using diplomatic blackmail or military force, Mr Putin would extend Russia’s power and influence further and further into Europe, just as the tsars and Stalin did before him.

No country would be safe from opportunistic and ruthless Russian aggression, always backed by the threat of using nuclear weapons. Hard-pressed Western governments and peoples have suffered energy shortages, inflation, and cost of living crises not because of President Zelensky, but because of President Putin and his war.

The West cannot afford to allow him to win, and the more resolute and united the West is, the more likely it is that Russia will retreat further – and, just maybe, that President Putin will be forced out by his own military and civilian leaders. It would transform the geopolitical and economic situation facing the world. That is why President Zelensky has earned his warm welcome in Washington, and why President Biden is right to provide it.