Ukrainian First Lady Asks Congress for More Weapons

The Pentagon says the US is sending more HIMARS to Ukraine

The wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Olena Zelenska, addressed Congress in the US Capitol Building on Wednesday and asked for the US to send more weapons to Ukraine.

“I’m asking for weapons, weapons that would not be used to wage a war on somebody else’s land, but to protect one’s home and the right to wake up alive in that home,” Zelenska said.

Before speaking to Congress, Zelenska met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department and first lady Jill Biden at the White House. Jill Biden previously met with Zelenska when she made a surprise visit to Ukraine in May.

Also on Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the US would be sending Ukraine four more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) as part of the next weapons package that will be announced later this week. Ukraine has been using the HIMARS against Russia and could potentially use the rocket systems against Russian targets in Crimea.

The next weapons package will be the 16th that the US has sent to Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24 and would bring the total HIMARS the US pledged to 16. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that Ukraine would need at least 100 HIMARS for them to be a “game-changer” on the battlefield.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.