This is believed to be the Ukrainian president’s first trip outside the country since the Russian invasion began on 24 February.
Expected at 22:30 CET
President Zelenskyy and President Biden are scheduled to hold a press conference in the East Room of the White House after bilateral talks, and you can watch live on the video player above.
Later, Zelenskyy will address Congress, with US Vice President Kamala Harris expected to attend.
Read more about the Ukrainian president’s visit to Washington DC below:
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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting the US today, on what is believed to be his first trip outside the country since Russian forces launched an illegal invasion on 24 February.
Zelenskyy was welcomed at the White House by US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, as the president pledged ongoing support for Ukraine in fending off Russian aggression while saying that the US would back Ukraine’s efforts to pursue a “just peace.”
In brief remarks before their Oval Office meeting, Biden said the US and Ukraine would continue to project a “united defense” as Russia wages a “brutal assault on Ukraine’s right to exist as a nation.”
Russia is “trying to use winter as a weapon, but Ukrainian people continue to inspire the world,” Biden said. He told Zelenskyy that ”it’s an honor to be by your side.”
The Ukrainian president thanked Biden, US lawmakers and “ordinary people” of America for their support. Zelenskyy, who who first traveled by train to Poland before boarding a US military plane to the US, said he wanted to visit earlier and his visit now showed the “situation is under control, because of your support.”
The highly sensitive trip was taking place after 10 months of a brutal war that has seen tens of thousands of casualties on both sides and devastation for Ukrainian civilians. Just before his arrival, the US announced its largest single delivery of arms to Ukraine, including Patriot surface-to-air missiles, and Congress planned to vote on a spending package that includes about $45 billion (€42.4b) in emergency assistance to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy headed abroad after making a daring and dangerous trip Tuesday to what he called the hottest spot on the 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) front line of the war, the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s contested Donetsk province. He praised Ukrainian troops for their “courage, resilience and strength” as artillery boomed in the background.
