The hacking assault underscored the continuing threat to Ukraine’s statehood, as political infighting between Democrats and Republicans in Washington risks cutting off aid to Ukraine from its most important ally.
Ahead of his visits to Congress and the White House, Zelensky laid out the stakes in a series of posts on the social media platform X, summarizing a speech he made Monday at the National Defense University in Washington in which he said Ukraine is fighting to “stop Russia right at the start of its global war on freedom.”
“You can rely on Ukraine, and we expect to be able to rely on the U.S.,” Zelensky said. “When the free world hesitates, dictatorships rejoice, and their most dangerous ambitions ripen.”
Addressing members of the military in the audience, he told them they understood “what it means for a soldier to wait for munition, for weeks, months, without knowing it will come at all. When instead of moving forward you’re just watching, waiting for ammo or equipment, while your enemy is satisfied and preparing assaults.”
Zelensky’s blunt remarks flicked at Ukrainian frustrations over this year’s stalled counteroffensive, which was slow to start in part because Ukraine insisted it needed additional weapons and training from its Western supporters, especially the United States, to successfully push back occupying Russian forces.
In the meantime, Russia significantly built up formidable defensive positions across southern and eastern Ukraine, creating treacherous battlefield conditions including vast minefields, which led to significant losses of Ukrainian equipment and troops.
Zelensky’s comments also reflected his growing frustration over hesitance among some U.S. lawmakers to approve additional aid for Ukraine, which Republicans tied into a package with a controversial border control measures hoping it would win additional conservative support. Instead, further disagreements have stalled any progress and last week Zelensky abruptly canceled plans to attend a briefing for U.S. senators.
The meeting in the Senate soon turned into a shouting match.
There is now little hope in Kyiv or among Ukraine’s supporters in Washington that any further aid will be approved this calendar year — but Ukrainian officials hope Zelensky can help persuade U.S. lawmakers to commit to further assistance in January.
Meanwhile, the European Union is trying to push through additional emergency financial support for Kyiv and to begin formal negotiations for the country’s accession to the 27-nation bloc. But E.U. officials in Brussels are facing a roadblock, with Hungary threatening to veto any such plans.
Video footage this weekend showed Zelensky and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in heated discussion on the sidelines of the inauguration of Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei. Orbán has maintained a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and repeatedly has questioned Western support for Kyiv in the war against Moscow’s invading forces.
The drama over the West’s commitment to backing Ukraine has ramped up anxiety in Kyiv, where politicians and the general public recognize that decreased assistance could pose an immediate, existential threat. Russian forces now occupy roughly one-fifth of Ukraine’s sovereign territory, including Crimea, which Moscow invaded and annexed illegally in 2014.
Ukraine relies on U.S. support for a wide range of weaponry, including munitions for air defense systems that protect civilians in cities far from the front line. Russia continues to launch regular missile and drone attacks on cities across Ukraine, including Kyiv.
There are also fears that if Ukraine does not have the weapons it needs to advance on the front or even defend its current positions, it could be forced to negotiate and surrender some of the territory Russia has seized — a scenario that until now Zelensky has insisted will not happen and would only embolden Russia to continue its assaults on the international order.
Putin, in violation of international law, has proclaimed the annexation of four Ukrainian territories — Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, despite much of that territory still being in Ukrainian control. Russia has said it intends to carry out its March presidential election in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
If Western aid does not come through, there is little backstop available.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelzniak posted a screenshot of draft Ukrainian legislation for a daily prayer time for victory against Russia and joked: “I understand that the coalition finally has a plan B in case the military and financial assistance is not voted on in time?”
Serhiy Morgunov contributed to this report.
