Nancy Pelosi made surprise visit to Ukraine in strong show of U.S. support

KYIV, Ukraine

U.S. House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi paid a publicly unannounced visit to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the weekend and, in doing so, became the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Ukraine since Russia invaded in February.

The speaker of the House led an official congressional delegation to the capital of Kyiv on Saturday, the first of its kind since the war broke out.

The group included fellow senior House Democrats such as Intelligence Committee Chair, Adam Schiff and Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, Gregory Meeks, Politico reported.

“Our delegation travelled to Kyiv to send an unmistakable and resounding message to the entire world: America stands firmly with Ukraine,” the group said in a statement.

Meeting with Zelenskyy, Pelosi told the Ukrainian president, “Our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done.”

Zelensky awarded U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi with the Order of Princess Olga for a “significant personal contribution" to strengthening Ukrainian-American cooperation and "supporting sovereign, independent and democratic Ukraine.”

The visit, which came a week after Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin travelled to Kyiv, carried significant security concerns.

“While other groups of lawmakers plan to travel to nations bordering the conflict like Poland during the upcoming House recess, none planned to travel directly into the active war zone,” according to Politico, which noted that other U.S lawmakers have visited the country in unofficial capacities.

As of last month, it also appeared unlikely that President Joe Biden whom Zelenskyy has requested a visit from or Vice President Kamala Harris would make a similar trip given the risks. 

Pelosi, who is second in line to the presidency, said the three hours she spent with the “dazzling” Ukrainian president was “a remarkable master class of leadership,” speaking at a press conference in Rzeszow, Poland on Sunday.

The trip to Kyiv by Pelosi and the small group of Democratic lawmakers was kept under wraps until Sunday by which time the group was already out of Ukraine, The New York Times reported.

Pelosi spent “just over three hours on the ground in Kyiv,” according to CNN, before traveling to Poland to meet with President Andrzej Duda and other top officials. 

Pelosi made her surprise trip as Russian forces continue to attack Ukraine, and the besieged country presses the U.S. and other allies to provide additional assistance.

Biden last week asked Congress to provide an additional $33 billion in military and economic aid to Ukraine, an escalation that puts the U.S. “on track to spend as much this year helping the Ukrainians as it did on average each year fighting its own war in Afghanistan,” according to the Times.

“The signals that the United States and President Biden are giving today are very important,” Zelenskyy said during his meeting with Pelosi. “These are recent strong steps in defense and financial support for Ukraine, as well as decisions on Lend-Lease,” referring to the World War II-era program, which expedites the provision of military aid to Ukraine that the House approved last week.

“We are grateful for that,” Zelenskyy said. The Pelosi-led group reiterated America’s continued support for Ukraine at Sunday’s press conference. “Nothing is going to decrease, everything is going to increase,” Meeks said. - Africa