Biden, who has so far refused to impose a no-fly zone on the grounds that it would constitute an escalation, will speak at 3:45 pm GMT (11:45 am Mexico City time). Among other things, he must announce aid to Ukraine of an additional 800 million dollars (726 million euros) to counteract the invasion of that country by Russian troops.
In a grave and sometimes fiery tone, the Ukrainian president implored the United States and its Western allies to do more to save his country from Russian invasion, reminding them of the darkest hours in their history.
“In your great history, you have pages that allow you to understand the Ukrainians,” he said. “Remember Pearl Harbor, that terrible morning of December 7, 1941, when the sky was darkened by the planes attacking you”, “remember September 11, that terrible day in 2001”.
“This terror Europe has not experienced for 80 years,” he stressed.
He recalled that more than a hundred children have died, “whose heart has stopped beating” because of the war. The 44-year-old leader told congressmen that he doesn’t see “the meaning of life if he can’t stop death.”
Quoting civil rights leader Martin Luther King’s famous “I Had a Dream” speech, he told them, “I have a need, a need to protect our sky. I need your resolve, your help.”
“Is it too much to ask to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people? Is it too much to ask for a humanitarian no-fly zone?” he added, before showing an emotional video of his country under the bombs.