Congress prepares for historic address from Zelenskyy; Russian fighting intensifies outside Kyiv: Live Ukraine updates
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will deliver a virtual address to Congress on Wednesday and is expected to press for greater assistance as the Russian invasion of his nation wraps up a third week.
World leaders have addressed Congress many times, but Zelenskyy’s virtual speech will be a moment unlike any other. He’ll be a foreign head of state under siege from a global military power dialing in from an undisclosed location to address lawmakers still working under the restrictions of a lingering pandemic.
Zelenskyy’s virtual address starts at 9 a.m. ET. It won’t be held in the brightly lit, ornate House chamber that has served as the backdrop to important speeches from global leaders and larger-than-life historical figures. Instead, it will be in the Capitol Visitor Center Congressional Auditorium, a relatively unremarkable venue bathed in dark wood paneling. Members of Congress who are not fully vaccinated must don a mask.
Mapping and tracking Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
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Meanwhile, Kyiv suffers. Shrapnel from an artillery shell slammed into a 12-story apartment building in central Kyiv on Wednesday, obliterating the top floor and igniting a fire, according to a statement and images released by the Kyiv emergency agency.
The neighboring building was also damaged. The agency reported two victims, without elaborating.
Russian forces have intensified fighting in Kyiv suburbs, notably around the town of Bucha in the northwest and the highway leading west toward Zhytomyr, said Oleksiy Kuleba, head of the Kyiv region, on Wednesday.
Latest developments:
► Zelensky signed a decree creating a daily, nationwide minute of silence for 9 a.m. to “remember the Ukrainians who gave their lives, all those who fought, all the military, civilians and children.”
► Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law allowing foreign planes to be seized and used domestically, Russia’s Tass News Agency reported. Most foreign airlines have paused service to Russia due to the war and sanctions.
►Halting its invasion of Ukraine may not be enough for Russia to gain relief from Western economic sanctions, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with NPR. The U.S. wants guarantees there will never be another such invasion again, he said.
►At least 103 children have died and more than 100 others have been injured, said Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova.
This week, they are in a foreign land – San Diego – where Kovalchuk has no place to live, no relatives, no job. But her kids are safe.
Like more than 3 million other Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, the 37-year-old says she is simultaneously looking back and ahead. In Ukraine, a career as an interpreter allowed Kovalchuk to work mostly from home, looking after the children. Now, the kids will need to find schools, learn English, adapt to a new culture.
Read more here.
– Dennis Wagner
trapped in the school’s six hostels for two weeks with little food and water as the war raged.
The students — from India, Nigeria, Turkey and South Africa, among other countries — eventually found their way home over the course of last week and weekend after many days of travel by bus, train and plane throughout Ukraine and across borders.
Students had turned to social media to plead for help, using the hashtag “SaveSumyStudents.” But with limited access to electricity, calling attention to their plight was also difficult.
“We never had a plan, and every method of communication was lost, I couldn’t communicate with my parents,” said Samuel Olaniyan, a fourth-year student who returned to Nigeria a few days ago. “It was very, very scary.” Read more here.
– Christine Fernando and Cady Stanton
Contributing: The Associated Press