'Is this too much to ask?' An impassioned Zelenskyy demands more from Biden
WASHINGTON – The exhausted-looking man in a khaki T-shirt issued an impassioned plea Wednesday to President Joe Biden, demanding he do more to repel the bloody Russian invasion of his country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke over a video link to an extraordinary gathering of the U.S. Congress, invoking the most horrific moments in American history to argue the case for imposition of a "no-fly" zone – a request he surely knew would be rejected – or at least more military hardware, stiffer sanctions and additional steps to prevail against what he described as an assault on the world's democratic values.
Ukrainians have done what seemed nearly impossible, defying the predictions of military experts and intelligence analysts that Kyiv would fall to a Russian invasion within days. For three weeks, Ukrainian forces and volunteers have slowed and stalled Russia's advance, but at a cost of death and devastation.
Those costs were on unflinching display in a brief video Zelenskyy showed, contrasting scenes of sunny Ukrainian life before the invasion with footage of bombs exploding, buildings burning, children weeping, refugees fleeing. There were pictures of a mother and her two children lying dead in a street, a bloodied pregnant woman carried away on a stretcher and bodies being placed in a mass grave.
Then, five words on a black screen: "Close the sky over Ukraine."
Live updates: Zelenskyy implores Biden to 'be the leader of peace' in address to Congress
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Zelenskyy to Biden: 'Be the leader of the world'
When the livestream once again showed Zelenskyy on the screen of a congressional auditorium, he began to speak in English. "We are fighting for Europe and the world and our lives in the name of the future," he said with emotion. "I’m addressing President Biden. You are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace."
A few hours later, Biden was scheduled to announce $800 million in additional aid to Ukraine, although the White House continued to rule out imposing a no-fly zone or providing more jet fighters to the Ukrainians. He has warned those steps would risk a direct confrontation with Russian forces that could spark World War III.
Though dozens of foreign leaders have addressed ceremonial meetings of the House and Senate, Zelenskyy's speech was unprecedented in fundamental ways. He spoke remotely, for one thing, and from a war zone – indeed, to protect his safety from an undisclosed location in Ukraine. Members of Congress filled a Capitol auditorium, rising in ovation when he was introduced and after he finished his remarks.
It was reminiscent of Winston Churchill's address to Congress in 1941, when the British prime minister spoke in the Senate chamber three weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Churchill praised the "Olympian fortitude" of Washington in joining what he predicted would be a long and difficult battle.
Now Zelenskyy, 45, a former actor, has become the world's most inspirational orator. He has made speeches to the European and Canadian parliaments pleading for the world's help. He is scheduled to address Germany's parliament on Thursday.
He asked for the opportunity to address the American legislature, and he tailored his remarks to an American ear. He mentioned Pearl Harbor and the presidential heroes depicted on Mount Rushmore. He repeated Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic call, "I have a dream." He cited the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
"A terrible day in 2001 when people tried to turn your cities into battlefields, when innocent people were attacked from the air," a horror his country experiences every day, he said. "This is a terror Europe has not seen for 80 years, and we are asking for an answer to this terror from the world. Is that a lot to ask? To create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people. Is this too much to ask?"