Zelenskyj asks USA for help
Billions in cash should strengthen Ukraine
03/06/2022, 03:45 am
US President Joe Biden has called his Ukrainian colleague Volodymyr Zelenskyy again because of the Russian attack on Ukraine. During the conversation, Biden underlined the continuation of sanctions against Russia. Before that, the United States pledged billions in aid to Ukraine.
Against the background of the worsening humanitarian situation in his country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has called his US counterpart Joe Biden again. The phone call was about “security issues, financial support for Ukraine and the continuation of sanctions against Russia,” Zelenskyy said on Twitter.
The White House said Biden in the 30-minute call with Zelenskyi highlighted steps the US and its allies had taken “to increase the cost to Russia of its aggression in Ukraine.”
Biden also referred to the role of private companies in Russia’s economic isolation. The President “welcomed” the decision of the US credit giants Visa and Microsoft to temporarily suspend their business activities in Russia.
A few hours before the call, Selenskyj had asked members of the US Congress in a video conference for further help for his country. Republican Senator Steve Daines said after the video conference on Fox News that parliamentarians had promised the Ukrainian head of state the release of the ten billion dollars (nine billion euros) requested by the White House. The US Congress was united in its “support for Ukraine”.
Russian plane lands in USA
According to the White House, the money will be used to finance additional humanitarian, security and economic support “in Ukraine and the neighboring region”. In the video call, Zelenskyy also underlined his call for tougher sanctions against Russia, especially in the oil and gas sector. The White House has so far rejected this.
A Russian plane had previously landed in the US capital Washington with a special permit to pick up Russian UN diplomats accused of espionage. This was confirmed by a spokeswoman for the US State Department. This should make it easier for diplomats and their families to leave the country in accordance with their obligations. The US has imposed a flight ban on Russian planes because of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
The United States announced on Monday that it would expel 12 employees of the Russian UN mission who had “abused” their diplomatic status in the United States through espionage activities. The next day, on the same basis, they ordered the departure of a Russian citizen, also by March 7, who worked at the United Nations Secretariat. The Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, rejected the allegations and spoke of “a hostile step” against his country. About a hundred people are said to work for the Russian UN mission.