Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a New Year’s Eve address to his country, just one week after his first trip outside Ukraine since the war began to the U.S., where he met with President Joe Biden and spoke before a joint meeting of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. The Senate debated a government spending bill for the fiscal year 2023 that included an additional $40 billion in aid for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said in his speech that “most of the missiles have been intercepted by our air defense forces.”
The war between Ukraine and Russia has been ongoing since 2014, with Russian forces occupying parts of eastern Ukraine and Ukrainian forces reclaiming the city of Kherson in November after Russia’s forces withdrew across the Dnieper River.
The death toll from the Russian attack on New Year’s Eve rose to at least three, with the shelling in Kherson causing serious injury to a 13-year-old boy who was transferred to a hospital in Mykolaiv.
As Ukrainians faced another year of war, President Zelenskyy urged his people to “hold on the best we can.”
On New Year’s Eve, instead of fireworks, people in Kyiv watched the sparks caused by Ukrainian air defense forces countering Russian attacks.
“Of course it was hard to celebrate fully because we understand that our soldiers can’t be with their family,” said Evheniya Shulzhenko, who was sitting with her husband on a park bench overlooking the city.
With the Senate debating an additional $40 billion in aid for Ukraine, President Zelenskyy expressed hope that 2023 will bring peace and stability to the country.
Be First to Comment