”Democracy visited Washington” and other reactions to Zelenskyʼs visit to the USA. The worldʼs leading media about the war on December 22

Dozens of artiles in Western media are dedicated to Volodymyr Zelenskyʼs visit to the United States and, in particular, his speech in the American Congress. Currently, they mostly relate to the chronicle of the visit and citation of Zelenskyʼs speech and the joint press conference of the Ukrainian and American presidents. In the descriptions of the visit, the word "historic" often sounds ― however, these descriptions differ in emphasis. For example, The Financial Times drew attention to the fact that, despite the emphasized friendly tone of the conversations, tension was felt between Volodymyr Zelensky and Joe Biden. This especially concerned the issue of a "just peace" with Russia. This term arose in the context of possible peace talks between Kyiv and the Kremlin, which were hinted at in the White House this fall. In Washington, Zelensky emphasized that the concept of a "just peace" cannot be discussed with those who unjustifiably attacked another country. Therefore, according to him, peace can only be discussed after the expulsion of all Russian troops from Ukrainian territory. Differences in approaches were also felt in the issue of arms supply. Speaking about the Patriot air defense systems, which Washington finally agreed to transfer to Ukraine, Biden emphasized that these weapons are necessary for defense, not for offense ― so it should not anger Russia. At the same time, it is known that Ukraine has repeatedly stated the need for offensive weapons, which would make it possible to end the war faster.

The American broadcaster ABC paid attention to which members of the American Congress reacted to Zelenskyʼs speech. The TV channel counted: the speech was interrupted by standing ovations 18 times, and almost every time the likely next speaker of the House of Representatives, the leader of the Republican minority, Kevin McCarthy, stood and applauded. Instead, some of the Republicans skeptical about the aid to Ukraine ― in particular, Jim Jordan, Andrew Clyde, Matt Goetz and Lauren Bobert rose from their seats for applause only about 10 times, although they did not regret the applause itself. However, Getz, who is particularly active in criticizing military aid to Ukraine, spent a significant part of his speech looking at his smartphone screen. ABC, as well as, for example, Global News or The Atlantic, called the speech and the visit historic, adding that "democracy visited Washington", alluding to the numerous scandals and weight gain by populists in the American power elite.

The Wall Street Journal has already managed to learn some details of preparations for Zelenskyʼs visit to the US. The publicationʼs sources said that the details of the visit were being prepared under strict secrecy during the week. However, the American side still remained concerned about Zelenskyʼs safety ― in particular, the fact that he traveled the distance from Kyiv to the border with Poland by train. It was, according to WSJ interlocutors, the most dangerous part of the journey.