On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with a delegation of members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate from the Republican and Democratic parties.
The event was attended by: Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Mike Turner (Republican Party), House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Honorable Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (Democratic Party), members of the House of Representatives from the Republican Party Joe Wilson, Brett Guthrie, Ann Wagner, Neal Dunn, Brian Fitzpatrick, Claudia Tenney and from the Democratic Party – Gerald Connolly, Adam Smith, Gregory Meeks, Jim Himes, Brendan Boyle, Donald Norcross, Jason Crow, Mikie Sherrill, Veronica Escobar.
The Head of State thanked all Americans, U.S. President Joseph Biden and both parties of the Congress for supporting Ukraine.The President expressed hope that the House of Representatives would adopt the decisions ensuring further necessary U.S. support for Ukraine in countering Russia's full-scale aggression.
He emphasized the importance of the recent decision of the Senate in support of the bill providing for the allocation of $60 billion in aid to Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed the senators about Ukraine's priority defense needs, including additional artillery systems and ammunition, long-range weapons, electronic warfare, and strengthening air defense.The Head of State also spoke about the steps taken by Ukraine to counter Russia's attempts to undermine free navigation and unimpeded food exports through the Black Sea.
The President thanked for the initiatives that limit the resources of the Russian aggressor state to wage war against Ukraine and for the steps taken by the United States to create a legislative mechanism for the confiscation of frozen Russian sovereign assets to rebuild our country.
The participants discussed the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine and the capabilities of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
Special attention was paid to the development of defense industries. The President spoke, in particular, about progress in the production of drones. He expressed hope that American businesses would participate in localizing the production of drones, air defense systems, artillery systems, and ammunition in Ukraine.Volodymyr Zelenskyy also informed about the economic situation in Ukraine. In particular, he noted that last year's GDP growth was 5%. Among other things, this was driven by the strengthening of air defense with the help of the United States, as greater protection of cities encourages Ukrainians to return home from abroad, which stimulates the growth of our country's economy.
The Head of State also spoke about measures taken by Ukraine to ensure the functioning of the "grain corridor" in the Black Sea to export significant volumes of agricultural products to different countries of the world.