2 years ago
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's heartfelt appeal to the West for help defending his country from Russian attacks brought him to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, when he delivered several specific — and potentially difficult — requests to U.S. lawmakers.
While the U.S. and other NATO allies are sending billions of dollars of military and humanitarian assistance, most lawmakers acknowledge that America can and should be doing more as Ukraine comes under heavy Russian fire that has destroyed entire cities and killed thousands of innocent civilians. However, some of Zelenskyy's remaining goals, such as a no-fly zone over his nation, are already non-starters with the vast majority of lawmakers and Biden administration officials.
That said, Zelenskyy’s Wednesday speech could spur action in other critical areas to help Ukrainian forces defend their country. And the 44-year-old actor-turned-president has proven to be effective at using Congress to get what he wants.
American history buff
Zelenskyy has mastered the art of the emotional appeal. And he knows it’s an area where Congress will listen.
He directly compared Russia’s war in Ukraine to past attacks on the U.S. that saw allies come to the aid and comfort of the world’s superpower — significant moments like the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, for example.
Zelenskyy also invoked Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I have a dream” speech bolstering the American civil rights movement, saying he needs additional military capabilities that the U.S. and European partners have not yet approved.
“I have a dream. These words are known to each of you today,” Zelenskyy said. “I can say, I have a need. I need to protect our sky. I need your help.”
Inside the room on Capitol Hill, U.S. lawmakers nodded as Zelenskyy referenced those turning points in American history. For Congress, a typically gridlocked legislature where direct and vivid messaging can help break stalemates, his imagery showed a clear awareness that speaking to Americans in their own historical terms can prove particularly powerful.
Zelenskyy went even further to underscore his deep understanding of Congress, pressuring lawmakers to call out “companies in your district” that are doing business with Russia. He even seemed to jab at President Joe Biden, putting pressure on him to do more for Ukraine — a message he knows lawmakers will use to supercharge their own pressure campaigns.
“You are the leader of your great nation,” Zelenskyy said. “I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.”
Heartbreaking video
Lawmakers were taken by surprise when Zelenskyy played a short video showing the carnage throughout Ukraine. The clip showed Russian missiles hitting buildings and causing heartbreaking destruction. At one point, the video showed two men tossing a dead body into a makeshift grave and a bloodied pregnant woman being carried on a gurney.
The images were played for a reason. Zelenskyy wanted to hammer home to Congress that Russian attacks from the sky are causing heartbreaking destruction throughout Ukraine, and he argued that a no-fly zone set up by the U.S. and NATO partners would stop such devastation from happening.
While it seemed like an effective message, lawmakers emerged from the speech remaining skeptical about setting up a no-fly zone, arguing that it would put two superpowers — the U.S. and Russia — at war with each other.
A no-fly zone plan B?
Short of NATO nations enforcing a no-fly zone, top U.S. lawmakers are ready to push for more weapons and equipment to help Ukraine secure its skies. Rep. Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said a no-fly zone would result in “automatic World War 3.”
"We don't want it to escalate to that, but we want to give Ukraine everything we can to help them establish a no-fly zone," McCaul said, adding, "I don't know how long the patience is going to last here."
Short of a no-fly zone, Zelenskyy said he would welcome aircraft and anti-aircraft missile systems, such as the Russian-made S-300 that is still in the inventories of Eastern European allies. Ukraine already has some of those systems, too.
Lawmakers will also likely continue to pressure the Biden administration to facilitate the transfer of MiG fighter jets from Poland to Ukraine and backfill those aircraft with American-made F-16 fighters, though the U.S. government has resisted the move as too provocative.
McCaul and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) told reporters that their committee, tasked with overseeing foreign military sales, would sign off on a deal for F-16s to take the place of any Polish MiGs turned over to Ukraine.
"All he wants is the equipment that's necessary to protect the skies,” Meeks said of Zelenskyy.
New Russia sanctions
In addition to providing Ukraine with the means to defend its territory, Zelenskyy said the U.S. should roll out new sanctions against Moscow “every week” until “the Russian military machine stops.” He didn’t offer specifics, other than to suggest that the sanctions should target every Russian politician.
There’s much more the U.S. could do when it comes to sanctions. But many of the more biting penalties that Zelenskyy and lawmakers have proposed — like sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas sectors — aren’t yet amenable to the Biden administration, which is aiming to roll out the punishments in concert with European allies.
That approach may not prove politically sustainable for the administration: Republicans point out that the White House as recently as last week made a major move to cut off Russia's fossil-fuel revenue stream even though many European nations didn’t follow suit. Biden's announcement that the U.S. would ban imports of Russian oil and other energy sources came after bipartisan pressure from Capitol Hill, and after Zelenskyy also specifically called for it.
Republicans also want to see Biden impose so-called secondary sanctions against Vladimir Putin's government, a drive that Zelenskyy's remarks may fuel. Such penalties would sanction even those non-Russian companies that do business with Russian entities.
European countries are vehemently opposed to such secondary sanctions, though, because of how much business is still conducted between Russia and their major industries. Officials in Europe continue to warn that secondary sanctions could cripple their own economies, too.
Zelenskyy is likely to continue calling for these types of penalties, especially as Russia’s assault on his country gets worse by the day.
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