Zelensky to meet with Biden in DC next week: reports

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is planning to meet with President Biden in Washington next week, according to multiple reports.

Zelensky is slated to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York City next Wednesday for the group’s annual gathering. Multiple news outlets reported that he will then visit D.C. to meet with Biden and lawmakers on Capitol Hill, according to people familiar with Zelensky’s plans.

The Washington Post reported that Zelensky’s trip to D.C. will be tentatively scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 21. The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

He previously visited the nation’s capital in December, when he met with Biden and addressed a joint session of Congress. Since then, support for continuing to send aid to Ukraine has dwindled among a handful of Republican lawmakers, as the White House continues to pledge aid to Ukraine.

Zelensky’s reported trip comes on the heels of Secretary of State Antony Blinken paying a visit to Kyiv last week, when he announced an additional $1 billion in U.S. aid to Ukraine to help defend the country against the Russian invasion. This aid will include air support and other resources Blinken said will “build a force for the future, a military force of the future, that is capable of deterring future aggression, and if necessary, defending and defeating it.”