Zelensky Confirms Trip To US, Meeting With Biden 300 Days Into Ukraine War

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is traveling to the United States to meet with President Joe Biden, deliver a congressional speech and have bilateral meetings, the Ukrainian President tweeted on Wednesday.

"On my way to the US to strengthen resilience and defense capabilities of Ukraine. In particular, @POTUS and I will discuss cooperation between Ukraine and the United States," Zelensky wrote.

This comes just a day after Zelensky showed up unannounced at Ukraine's frontline city of Bakhmut, which has been receiving relentless Russian attacks for the past 300 days.

Zelensky's visit will reportedly coincide with the White House's expected announcement of a new military aid package to Ukraine.

A U.S. official told CNN that Biden will announce an additional $1.8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine during the expected visit. The assistance will be on top of the nearly $20 billion that the U.S. has already provided the nation since Russia's invasion began on Feb. 24.

In his visit to Bakhmut on Tuesday (Dec 20), Zelensky said that this week is extremely important for Ukraine in order to gain the necessary support and prevail on all sections of the country's border.

"Our fighters gave me our flag today and asked to pass it on to those whose decisions are very important for Ukraine, for all our warriors. We will definitely do it. We will definitely endure. We will definitely get the necessary support for Ukraine," Zelensky said in his address Tuesday.

Meanwhile, U.S. Capitol Police, State Department agents and emergency management personnel are already preparing for Zelensky's arrival as the Ukrainian president is currently the target of Russian forces.

Since the beginning of the war, Zelensky has continued appealing to nations to support Ukraine and has been calling on the U.S. to send an advanced long-range air defense system that is effective at intercepting ballistic and cruise missiles from Russians.

Reports said that a Patriot missile battery, which the U.S. is expected to send to Ukraine, would be the most effective long-range defensive weapons system.