Zelenskyy did not speak in US Senate as 'internal issues were discussed there' – diplomat

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not appear before the US Senate, because not only Ukrainian issues were discussed there, Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, explained on national television.

Zelenskyy has previously spoken before the Congress and conducts regular briefings, she noted.

A number of closed briefings were held on Tuesday, at which Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and other White House officials spoke.

"Nothing catastrophic actually happened. There was an idea in one of several of these briefings that it would be possible to participate. It is precisely because they discussed not only the issues of Ukraine, but also internal issues, that we did not take such a part today," said Markarova.

The Ukrainian delegation has already held a large number of face-to-face meetings and will continue to work in the Congress.

Earlier, the leader of the majority in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, said that Zelenskyy would not speak before American lawmakers because "something happened at the last minute."

On October 20, 2023, US President Joe Biden called on Congress not to stop the supply of weapons to Ukraine. The White House has sent a request to Congress to allocate $106 billion in emergency funding to help Ukraine, Israel and strengthen US border security. In particular, $61.4 billion of them are intended for Ukraine.

According to an Ipsos poll conducted in mid-November, 41% of Americans support providing arms to Ukraine, which is 10% more than support for arms to Israel.