Why Zelensky Wants to Address Congress

Jack Butler has a thoughtful, if pessimistic, assessment of Zelensky’s reported plans to address Congress on Wednesday night. He is primarily concerned that the Ukrainian president’s expected visit will embolden his U.S. and foreign critics and that Zelensky faces a heightened level of risk outside of Ukraine.

These are valid concerns, but I think the potential benefits for Zelensky’s cause far outweigh the risks. As Zelensky and his team of Washington-based operators surely know, rousing addresses delivered over Zoom are no substitute for the sort of press that a real-life swing through Washington generates. Ukraine fatigue is real, and waning U.S. public attention to the conflict has translated to slipping support in U.S. polling and among the political class — and a growing contingent of lawmakers willing to vote against U.S. assistance packages. Zelensky’s bet is clearly that a real-life visit to Capitol Hill can generate the sort of buzz that his numerous virtual speeches — delivered everywhere from such high-profile platforms as the U.N. Security Council to less prominent venues such as an annual security conference in Nova Scotia — just don’t seem to attract in the West anymore.

The context of his expected trip — expected because there remains a possibility that it will not move forward amid the media leaks — is also noteworthy in light of Zelensky’s other activities this week. He spent Tuesday on the front lines of the war in the eastern city of Bakhmut. Within the span of less than 48 hours, he’ll have gone from the battlefield to the House of Representatives Rostrum, in his first wartime trip outside of Ukraine. His appearance in Bakhmut itself already drew a sharp contrast with Putin’s trip to Belarus this week, where the Russian leader clinked champagne flutes with Lukashenko.

A Zelensky speech would only intensify the juxtaposition between himself and Putin, or between an energetic wartime leader with the wind in his sails and a declining strongman who seeks refuge in the shadows. As Putin dodges his annual press conference and courts Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, Zelensky’s every step in Washington will be watched by people across the world. And the whole show will showcase unity between the U.S. and Ukraine, amid speculation that the U.S. might opt to prematurely force Kyiv to the negotiating table to accept the cession of Russian-occupied territory.

PHOTOS: Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington

While unlikely, the trip could potentially even shake loose a few more votes in favor of the omnibus government-funding bill that includes a $45 billion package of Ukraine-related assistance or, at least, catalyze private GOP leadership assurances that the incoming House majority would approve their own versions of more politically palatable aid packages in the next Congress. Also, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi going wobbly on her previous support of designating Moscow a state sponsor of terrorism, Zelensky will have the chance to make his case in private meetings with her and Joe Biden — and perhaps in his remarks as well.

Ultimately, though, Zelensky owes such a speech to the American people, whose representatives have decided to make an investment in his country the total amount of which might soon exceed $100 billion. Zelensky knows that if he is to have even the slightest chance of maintaining the level of U.S. support that has persisted throughout the first year of the war, he needs to explain directly to Congress and the American public why their money has been well spent. Wednesday evening is his chance to do just that.