President Biden as his administration prepared to announce another round of aid.
Mr. Zelensky asked Congress to remember the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, when Americans were targeted from the sky. “Our country experiences the same thing every day right now," he said.
Lawmakers gathered in an auditorium in the Capitol complex to watch the address and rose to their feet for a standing ovation as soon as Mr. Zelensky appeared on the screen, his hand pressed to his heart.
He asked for a no-fly zone over Ukraine, but said he would accept jet fighters and antiaircraft weapons if necessary so the Ukrainians could defend themselves. “Is this too much to ask?…If this is too much to ask we offer an alternative: You know what systems we need."
Mr. Zelensky focused specifically on bolstering Ukraine’s air-defense systems, identifying the S-300, an air-defense system, first produced by the Soviet Union and later Russia, that is capable of shooting down aircraft and cruise missiles. The S-300 was designed to be highly mobile, allowing air-defense forces to fire their weapons and quickly relocate to avoid being hit in a retaliatory strike.
Mr. Zelensky said Ukrainians wouldn’t surrender Kyiv, even under daily bombardment. “We have not even thought about it for a second," he said.
Ahead of the speech, Ukraine said it launched a counteroffensive against Russian forces encroaching on its capital and other key cities.
Mr. Biden is expected to announce about $1 billion in new military assistance to Ukraine’s government later Wednesday, according to U.S. officials. The aid is expected to include more of the same kinds of military equipment the U.S. says the Ukrainians need the most to repel Russian attacks: anti-armor and anti-air systems, including weapons such as Javelins and Stingers. The money would come from the roughly $13.6 billion allotted for Ukraine in the omnibus budget law.
Mr. Biden has ruled out U.S. participation in a no-fly zone, saying it would put the U.S. and Russia in direct confrontation.
The Pentagon last week rejected an offer from Poland to transfer its MiG-29 combat jets to a U.S. air base in Germany that could then transport the Polish aircraft to Ukraine. The Pentagon called the Polish proposal “not tenable."
The U.S. has sent troops, air-defense systems and other equipment to Poland and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization states on the eastern flank to bolster their defenses. Washington also previously provided Javelin antitank weapons, Stinger antiaircraft missiles and small arms and ammunition, according to U.S. officials.
In addition to asking for the S-300, Mr. Zelensky repeated his plea for aircraft on Wednesday. “We know that they exist…but they are on earth not in the sky."
He said he was thankful for what the U.S. had done so far, but called on lawmakers to do more, including sanctions against all Russian politicians who have not cut ties with the government. He said all American companies should leave Russia “because it is flooded by our blood" and specifically asked lawmakers to encourage companies from their home states to stop doing business in Russia. He called on the U.S. to ban the import of all Russian goods.
Mr. Zelensky asked members of Congress to watch a video that showed Ukrainian cities before and during Russian bombardments, with graphic scenes of dead children, pools of blood and mass graves. The video concluded with the words, “Close the sky over Ukraine," in English.
Mr. Zelensky spoke via a translator for most of the speech, but closed in English with a personal plea to Congress and the U.S. president. Ukraine is fighting not just for its own existence but for European values, human rights and democracy, Mr. Zelensky said.
“President Biden, you are the leader of your great nation," he said. “I see you as the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace."
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) called Mr. Zelensky’s speech very powerful, pointing to the video as one of the most moving moments. He said it showed that Russia was committing war crimes and that Mr. Biden needed to get the MiGs to Ukraine as soon as possible.
“America, the world, cannot stand by," he said.
Even as both Democrats and Republicans rallied around the Ukrainian president, some lawmakers suggested that the U.S. needed to avoid the temptation to act impulsively.
“There isn’t a parent or grandparent who could watch that video and not see their own children or grandchildren," said Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat. But, he said, “We should be the strongest supporters of Ukraine we can be, but the president is the commander in chief. He has to decide the reasonable limits."
Since the war began, Mr. Zelensky and some of the country’s top cabinet ministers have embarked on an international campaign aimed at lobbying for additional aid to help Ukrainian forces sustain what is likely to be a lengthy military struggle.
On Tuesday, Mr. Zelensky delivered a similar speech to Canada’s parliament, earning a lengthy standing ovation both before and after he spoke from lawmakers who packed the chamber in Ottawa. He asked them to imagine bombs falling on cities like Toronto or Vancouver and urged them to act accordingly.
For weeks before Russia’s latest invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Zelensky had been pleading with the international community to take action before it was too late, calling for more weapons, as well as sanctions against Russia’s aggression even before the invasion began. But he has also acknowledged publicly the difficult position his country is in as a non-NATO member experiencing sustained security threats.
After the speech, Democratic and Republican lawmakers were receptive to Mr. Zelensky’s request for the S-300, an air-defense system first produced by the Soviet Union and later Russia, that is capable of shooting down aircraft and cruise missiles. Because the systems aren’t U.S.-made, any U.S. role in providing the weapons would involve helping Eastern European allies who transfer their equipment to Ukraine to obtain new systems.
Delaware Democratic Sen. Tom Carper, the chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said committee chairs would have lunch with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) to discuss how Congress can do more to help Ukraine.
Several bipartisan bills related to the war in Ukraine are already picking up steam in Congress, which recently passed a $13.6 billion package of military and humanitarian aid for the embattled country.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said Friday the House this week is expected to vote on legislation that would end the U.S. policy of treating Russia as a most favored nation, a key principle of the World Trade Organization that requires member countries to guarantee equal tariff and regulatory treatment to other members. The Senate is working on an agreement that it can pass quickly, said a spokesman for Mr. Schumer.
The votes follow an announcement from Mr. Biden that the U.S. was moving to sever normal trade ties with Russia—and ban imports of its seafood, vodka and diamonds—as it joined other countries in ratcheting up economic pressure on Moscow for its invasion.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers also have proposed legislation that would allow the U.S. government to seize Russian oligarchs’ yachts, artwork and other assets, and direct funds from their sale toward humanitarian or military aid in Ukraine.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) said he and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) are set to introduce a resolution that would, if passed, say the Senate supports sanctioning all Russian banks, including the one that allows Russia to export energy.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text
