Zelenskyy to meet Biden, address Congress and UN next week; Russia expels US diplomats: Updates
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is returning to the U.S. next week, intent on making a case for continued support for his embattled nation in both New York and Washington.
Zelenskyy will meet President Joe Biden in the White House on Thursday after addressing the U.N. General Assembly two days earlier, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive visit.
In December, Zelenskyy impressed upon receptive members of Congress that helping fund Ukraine's war effort against Russia was “not charity” but an “investment” in democracy. He's now expected to return to Capitol Hill at a time when Republicans control the House and Congress is debating Biden’s request of $24 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
The trip to the Capitol was confirmed by two congressional aides granted anonymity to discuss the plans.
Biden has steadfastly stood behind Ukraine’s fight to defend its territory, directing billions of dollars toward that cause. He also traveled to Kyiv to visit Zelenskyy in February.
The last time the two leaders met was in July at the NATO summit in Lithuania, where Zelenskyy drew strong support but not the timeline he wanted for Ukraine to join the military alliance.
War developments:
◾ The International Criminal Court has opened a field office in Kyiv, the tribunal's largest outside its home base of The Hague, Netherlands, according to Ukraine Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin. The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine.
◾ A Russian pilot intentionally fired missiles at an unarmed British surveillance plane in international airspace over the Black Sea last September after getting an ambiguous command, not quite the “technical malfunction” Russia blamed for the incident, the BBC reported. British officials have downplayed the encounter.
Russia expels two U.S. diplomats over 'illegal activity'
The frayed U.S.-Russia relations took another step toward ripping apart Thursday when the Kremlin ordered two American diplomats to leave the country within a week, accusing them of “illegal activity.”
The decision prompted a new round of recriminations from both sides, including an accusation from State Department spokesman Matthew Miller that Russia “continues to harass employees of our embassy, just as it continues to intimidate its own citizens.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry deemed Jeffrey Sillin, the first secretary at the U.S. Embassy in Russia, and David Bernstein, the second secretary, “persona non grata” Thursday, saying in a statement they maintained contact with a former employee of the U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok who was arrested earlier this year. The ex-employee was accused of collecting information for U.S. diplomats about Russia’s war in Ukraine and related issues.
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow called the expulsion “unprovoked” and an intimidation attempt.
Interactions between the two nations with the largest nuclear armaments in the world have progressively deteriorated since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and the White House spearheaded the resistance.
The statement warned U.S. diplomats against “interference in the internal affairs of the host country,” and urged the Biden administration not to take “confrontational steps.”
Miller all but assured those would be forthcoming, telling reporters in Washington that “Russia has chosen confrontation and escalation over constructive diplomatic engagement” and adding, “You can certainly expect that we will respond appropriately to their actions.”
Large sanctions package aims to curtail penalty evasion
Seeking to deny the Kremlin access to technology and thwart its attempts at evading penalties, the Biden administration announced Thursday a large package of sanctions that hit more than 150 businesses and people from Russia to NATO member Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Georgia.
The package also aims to hobble the development of Russia’s energy sector and future sources of cash, including Arctic natural gas projects, as well as mining and factories producing and repairing Russian weapons.
"With today's sanctions, the United States is continuing our relentless work to target Russia's military supply chains and deprive Putin of the equipment, technology, and services he needs to wage his barbaric war on Ukraine," Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said in a statement.
Ex-Commerce Secretary Pritzker to help guide Ukraine's economic recovery
Former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, a major Democratic donor with Ukrainian family roots, was announced Thursday as the U.S. coordinator for Ukraine's economic-recovery and reconstruction efforts.
Her role will include channeling investment toward the battered country and restarting businesses shut down during the war.
“Working in lockstep with the Ukrainian government, our allies and partners, international financial institutions, and the private sector, she will drive the United States’ efforts to help rebuild the Ukrainian economy,” Biden said in a statement.
Pritzker, 64, served during the Obama administration and is the older sister of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Contributing: The Associated Press