乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽伦斯基(Volodymyr Zelenskyy)将于周三向国会发表历史性的虚拟讲话，恳求美国采取更多措施来帮助阻止俄罗斯入侵乌克兰。
尽管尚不清楚泽伦斯基是否会向总统乔·拜登施压，要求北约实施禁飞区，但白宫新闻秘书珍·普萨基说，拜登将在上午9点观看泽伦斯基的讲话，并在之后发表自己的讲话，详细说明美国正在为“乌克兰安全援助”做些什么。
周二，他在签署1.5万亿美元的政府拨款法案时对记者发表了一些先发制人的回应，该法案包括向乌克兰提供136亿美元的补充援助。
帕特里克·斯曼斯基/美联社
乔·拜登总统在签署财政综合拨款法案前发表讲话
“我们一直在直接向乌克兰军队提供反装甲和空中能力。我们也在为我们的盟友向乌克兰运送大量安全援助提供便利。“有了这笔新的安全资金...我们正在紧急行动，在勇敢的乌克兰人民保卫自己的国家时，进一步加大对他们的支持。”
虽然美国实施了一系列经济和贸易制裁以孤立普京，但拜登政府一直断然并一再拒绝禁飞区，拒绝美国军队在乌克兰与俄罗斯作战，以及任何帮助波兰向乌克兰人提供米格-29战斗机的帮助。同样不清楚的是，如果白宫不采取更多行动，国会是否会试图采取单边行动。
泽伦斯基的言论可能会是什么样子
据一位熟悉泽伦斯基讲话的乌克兰官员称，预计他在国会的讲话将类似于他周二在加拿大议会的讲话。
泽伦斯基对这些议员发表讲话，动情地呼吁设立禁飞区，他说，在过去20天里，至少有97名乌克兰儿童在俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京下令的袭击中丧生。
“我们要求的不多，”他说。“我们要求正义，要求真正的支持，这将有助于我们获胜，捍卫和拯救生命。”
他呼吁对俄罗斯实施更多制裁，呼吁企业停止在俄罗斯的业务，并再次请求“空中支援”。
“关闭天空，关闭空域，”他继续说道。“请理解对俄罗斯导弹和俄罗斯飞机关闭我们的领空对我们来说有多重要。”
泽伦斯基在讲话前后都受到了长时间的起立鼓掌，但他的核心请求——北约在乌克兰上空设立禁飞区——不仅在美国，而且在其他北约国家都没有成功。周二，他抓住机会与加拿大总理贾斯廷·特鲁多进行了私人接触，呼吁加拿大人想象他们受到了攻击——他可能也会这样做，就像在国会发表演讲一样，美国人正在观看他的讲话的直播。
"还要有多少巡航导弹落在我们的城市，直到你让这一切发生?"他问。“贾斯汀，我们要求你发挥更多的领导作用，请你和我们所有的乌克兰朋友在这些努力中发挥更多、更大的作用。”
请求设立禁飞区
鉴于泽伦斯基的请求，普萨基周二被问及政府计划如何处理可能提出的要求，比如关闭乌克兰上空的空域。
“我要说的是，在不知道他明天会说什么的情况下，我们当然知道他会问些什么。我们已经提供了我们自己的评估，什么有意义，什么没有意义，”普萨基说，并提到拜登签署的对乌克兰的额外资助。
另一名记者跟进，“泽伦斯基明天要这些东西是在浪费时间吗?”
普萨基说:“由于泽伦斯基总统的热情、勇气和胆识，人们支持加快交付历史性数量的军事和安全援助及武器，帮助他和他的军队反击俄罗斯人。”“我要说的是，是的，我们承认有一系列两党呼吁，但我们有责任在这里做的是评估这对美国和我们自己的国家安全有何影响。”
普萨基补充说，禁飞区“基本上意味着我们击落俄罗斯飞机，他们基本上回击我们。”
随着乌克兰平民住宅继续遭到炮击，拜登上周表示，如果俄罗斯使用化学武器，将付出“严重代价”——但白宫拒绝详细说明这些后果会是什么样。前总统巴拉克·奥巴马对叙利亚的化学武器划了一条红线，但尽管来自国会的压力，政府仍不愿宣布同样的事情。
虽然泽伦斯基一直在呼吁西方采取更多行动，但国会两党成员也在敦促拜登采取更多行动来增加援助，并带头指责白宫上周最终采取的贸易制裁。
参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell)周二指责政府在向乌克兰提供援助方面“拖后腿”。
当被问及立法者如何应对不得不拒绝泽伦斯基可能要求他们采取的一些安全措施时，麦康奈尔表示，除了设立禁飞区外，他将同意泽伦斯基的要求。
麦康奈尔说:“我的猜测是，他将要求的一切都是我们应该做的事情，所以我个人对此的回应是肯定的。”“政府需要得到他们需要的信息，以我们需要的一切可以想象的方式帮助乌克兰人，我们需要马上这样做——不仅是我们，还有我们的北约盟友——他们似乎比政府更渴望帮助乌克兰人。”
参议院多数党领袖查克·舒默(Chuck Schumer)称，邀请泽伦斯基在国会发表演讲是该机构授予外国国家元首的“最高荣誉之一”。
“我们都被泽伦斯基总统和乌克兰人民的勇气所鼓舞。泽伦斯基总统可以放心，他在国会永远有朋友愿意倾听他的意见，我们很荣幸他能在本周晚些时候向我们发表讲话，”他周一在参议院发言时说。
随着他继续向西方发出呼吁，乌克兰总统上周也成为第一位在英国下议院发表演讲的外国领导人，并回应了温斯顿·丘吉尔1940年6月在盟军成功实现“敦刻尔克奇迹”后发表的著名演讲
“我们不会放弃，也不会输。我们将战斗到底——在海上，在空中，我们将不惜一切代价继续为我们的土地而战。我们将在森林里、在田野里、在海岸上、在街道上战斗，”他说，又一次赢得了起立鼓掌。
Ukraine's Zelenskyy to plead for more US help in virtual address to Congress
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to deliver a historic, virtual address to Congress on Wednesday to plead with the U.S. to do more to help stopRussia's invasion of Ukraine.
Although it's unclear whether Zelenskyy will pressure President Joe Biden by name to have NATO impose a no-fly zone, Biden will be watching Zelenskyy's address at 9 a.m., White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, and will also give an address of his own afterward, detailing what the U.S. is doing for "Ukrainian security assistance."
He gave something of a preemptive response in remarks to reporters on Tuesday while signing a $1.5 trillion government funding bill, which includes $13.6 billion in supplemental aid to Ukraine.
"We've been providing anti-armor -- taking out and air capabilities -- directly, directly to the Ukrainian forces. We're also facilitating significant shipments of security assistance from our allied partners to Ukraine," Biden said. "With this new security funding ... we're moving urgently to further augment the support to the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their country."
While the U.S. has imposed a slate of economic and trade sanctions to isolate Putin, the Biden administration has flatly and repeatedly rejected a no-fly zone, as well as U.S. troops fighting Russia in Ukraine and any help delivering MiG-29 fighter jets that Poland wants to get to the Ukrainians. It's also unclear whether Congress might try to move to act unilaterally if the White House doesn't take more action.
What Zelenskyy's remarks might look like
Zelenskyy's address to Congress is expected to be similar to the one he made to Canada's Parliament on Tuesday, according to a Ukrainian official familiar with the remarks.
Addressing those lawmakers, Zelenskyy, in an emotional appeal for a no-fly zone, said that at least 97 Ukrainian children have been killed in the last 20 days in onslaught ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"We are not asking for much," he said. "We're asking for justice, for real support, which will help us to prevail, to defend, to save lives."
He called for more sanctions on Russia and for businesses to end their operations there and repeated his pleas for "aerial support."
"Close the sky, close the airspace," he continued. "Please understand how important it is for us to close our airspace from Russian missiles and Russian aircraft."
Zelenskyy received a standing ovation, both before and after his remarks, but his central plea -- for NATO to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine -- has met with no success not just with the U.S. but with other NATO nations as well. He seized the chance to get personal with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday, calling on Canadians to imagine they were under attack -- something he may do as well speaking to Congress, with Americans watching a livestream of his remarks.
"How much more cruise missiles have to fall on our cities until you make this happen?" he asked. "We're asking for more of your leadership and, please, take more, greater part in these efforts, Justin, and all of our friends of Ukraine."
Pleas for a no-fly zone
Given Zelenskyy's pleas, Psaki was pressed Tuesday on how the administration planned to deal with the likely request for measures such as closing the airspace above Ukraine.
"I would say that without knowing what he's going to say tomorrow, we certainly are familiar with what the asks have been. We have provided our own assessment of what does make sense and doesn't make sense," Psaki said, noting the additional funding to Ukraine Biden was signing.
Another reporter followed up, "Is Zelenskyy wasting his time tomorrow asking for these things?"
"Because of the passion and the courage and the bravery of President Zelenskyy, there has been support for expediting the delivery of a historic amount of military and security assistance and weapons that have helped him and his military fight back against the Russians," Psaki said. "And I would say that, yes, we recognize there are a range of bipartisan calls, but what we have the responsibility to do here is to assess what the impact is on the United States and our own national security."
Psaki added that a no-fly zone "essentially means us shooting down Russian planes, and them essentially shooting back at us."
As the shelling of civilian residences continues in Ukraine, Biden said last week Russia would pay a "severe price" if it used chemical weapons -- but the White House has refused to detail what those consequences would look like. Former President Barack Obama drew a red line on chemical weapons in Syria, but despite pressure from Congress, the administration has hesitated to declare the same.
While Zelenskyy has been vocal in pushing the West to do more, members of both parties in Congress have also pressed Biden to do more to step up aid and led the charge for trade sanctions the White House ultimately took on last week.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell accused the administration on Tuesday of "dragging its heels" in getting aid to Ukraine.
Asked how lawmakers might navigate having to deny Zelenskyy some of the security measures he may request of them, McConnell indicated he would agree to what Zelenskyy is asking, aside from imposing a no-fly zone.
"My guess is that everything he is going to request is something we ought to be doing, and so my individual response to that would be yes," McConnell said. "The administration needs to get the message they need to help the Ukrainians in every conceivable way we need to do it, and we need to do it right now -- not only us but our NATO allies -- who seem to be way more anxious than this administration to help the Ukrainians."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the invitation to Zelenskyy to speak to Congress "one of the highest honors" bestowed by the body on a foreign head of state.
"We have all been inspired by the courage of President Zelenskyy and that of the Ukrainian people. President Zelenskyy can rest assured that he will always have friends in Congress ready to listen to stand in his corner, and we're honored to have him speak to us later this week," he said on the Senate floor Monday.
As he continues his appeals to the West, the Ukrainian president last week also became the first foreign leader to virtually address the U.K.'s House of Commons and echoed Winston Churchill's famous June 1940 speech after Allied forces pulled off the "miracle of Dunkirk."
"We will not give up, and we will not lose. We will fight till the end – at sea, in the air, we will continue fighting for our land whatever the cost. We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets," he said, met, again, with a standing ovation.
