US President Joe Biden has invited his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy to the White House, days after his administration warned it would run out of money for Ukraine aid in weeks unless feuding US lawmakers act. Republican senators last week blocked $106bn in emergency aid primarily for Ukraine and Israel after conservatives balked at the exclusion of immigration reforms that they had demanded as part of the package.
Zelenskiy’s office said he would arrive in Washington on Monday and that he would meet Biden during a working visit that would include “a series of meetings and discussions.” Zelenskiy has also been invited to address US senators on Tuesday morning in the Capitol, a Senate leadership aide said, while a private meeting between Zelenskiy and US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson will also be held in the Capitol on Tuesday, Johnson spokesperson Raj Shah said.
Zelenskiy attended the swearing-in of Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei, on his first official trip to Latin America where he is attempting to court support among developing nations. Milei welcomed the Ukrainian at the presidential palace after his inauguration. The two shared an extended hug, exchanged words and then Milei, who has said he intends to convert to Judaism, presented his Ukrainian counterpart with a menorah as a gift.
Zelenskiy said he had had a “frank” conversation with Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán on the sidelines of the inauguration. “It was as frank as possible – and obviously, it was about our European affairs,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. Orbán has threatened to block more EU aid for Ukraine as well as its membership accession talks.
Britain said it had delivered two mine-hunting ships to Ukraine. The mine hunters, originally HMS Grimsby and HMS Shoreham, were renamed Chernihiv and Cherkasy in Glasgow in June, and will help Ukraine to maintain a critical route for merchant shipping travelling across the Black Sea.
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