Pelosi welcomes Zelensky to the Capitol

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Capitol on Wednesday ahead of his address to a joint meeting of Congress.

“Here we are today to welcome the brave, courageous President Zelensky in order to raise not only him, but the courageous, unified people of Ukraine for what they are doing to protect democracy,” Pelosi said Wednesday evening at a photo-op alongside Zelensky.

Zelensky arrived in the U.S. earlier on Wednesday, marking his first known trip outside Ukraine since his country’s conflict with Russia began in late February. He is scheduled to give a speech before Congress in the Capitol Wednesday night.

The Ukrainian president said it was a “great privilege” and “great honor” to be at the Capitol, adding that his speech before Congress would be a “speech to Americans.”

“Congress of the United States is a big friend of Ukraine, Ukrainian people, really of freedom, freedom of Ukrainians,” he said, before thanking Pelosi for supporting Kyiv.

Zelensky noted that it was his second time visiting the Capitol — he was last in Washington, D.C., in November 2021 — but said time around it had a “different feeling.”

The Ukrainian president’s visit to Washington comes as Congress is considering $45 billion in new aid for Kyiv as its battle with Moscow continues. The funding is included in the end-of-the-year government funding package.

Pelosi said the measure will “hopefully” be done within the next 48 hours.