Ukraine update: Nancy Pelosi led congressional delegation to Kyiv, met with Zelenskyy

This post was originally published on this site

In a move we’re only hearing about after the fact for obvious security reasons, it has now been publicly revealed that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi traveled to Kyiv, Ukraine, to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday. Pelosi led a small congressional delegation that included House Intelligence chair Adam Schiff and House Foreign Affairs chair Gregory Meeks.

Zelensky posted footage of the trip early Sunday:

The Pelosi trip is another bold statement of commitment to Ukraine’s cause, and follows the approval of a lend-lease program to Ukraine. That authority allows the federal government to ship as much artillery ammunition, drones, heavy weapons, and whatever else Ukraine is deemed to need without having to ask Congress for further approval, and that equipment is now flooding into Ukraine not just from the United States, but from NATO allies.

Any Russian thoughts of achieving something that can be held up as a modest victory on May 9 are well and truly gone; not only are Russian forces continuing to be depleted in exchange for little to no on-the-ground progress, each passing day brings more NATO-provided weaponry to the Ukrainian frontlines. Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin’s next major decision is whether to begin a general mobilization, ordering Russia’s vast numbers of inexperienced, poorly-trained reservists over the border.

Such a move would be all but necessary if Russia still hopes for a face-saving partial victory, as the Ukrainian government and public are in no mood to entertain thoughts of ceding towns to Russia after Russian war crimes were discovered in the Ukrainian towns Russia has been forced to retreat from. It will also, however, compound Russian logistical problems that have already proved intractable. There’s little reliable information at this point as to what equipment even exists for the reservists to use, and Russian military troops manning popup security checkpoints in Ukraine have already been videotaped carrying bolt-action rifles and other antique equipment.

NATO nations are now sounding exceedingly confident in Ukraine’s ability to at least fight to a stalemate in coming months, though driving Russian forces back across the borders is still a tall order unless enough casualties can be inflicted to convince Putin and his military to declare victory and leave. Pelosi’s trip is just the latest in a series of trips by top U.S. and European officials showing hand-in-hand partnership with Ukraine’s government and military. It’s a far cry from where we started, with NATO nations quietly bickering among themselves about how much aid to give Ukraine, and how much would unnecessarily “provoke” the invading Putin.