‘Remember Pearl Harbor’: Zelenskyy Begs America for More Help Against Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy begged America for more help in a Wednesday address to Congress—and used a brutal video showing scenes of the war’s victims to ask for more military support, a no-fly zone, and more sanctions against Russia.

“The destiny of our country is being decided. The destiny of our people. Whether Ukrainians will be free, whether they will be able to preserve their democracy. Russia has attacked not just us, not just our land, not just our cities. It went on a brutal offensive against our values, basic human values,” Zelenskyy said.

“Remember Pearl Harbor,” Zelenskyy said before he invoked and 9/11, quoted Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, and played a video detailing the human costs of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—children crying and wounded, scenes of elderly people attempting to flee in wheelchairs and walkers, of wounded pregnant women being evacuated from the Mariupol maternity hospital, and dead bodies buried in a ditch.

“Close the sky over Ukraine,” the video concluded.

“I wish you to be leader of the world,” Zelenskyy said, switching to English and addressing President Biden directly as he concluded his plea. “Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.”

Zelenskyy reiterated his call for the U.S. to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Biden and many in Congress have explicitly rejected a no-fly zone so far because this would require shooting down Russian planes and risk escalating Russia’s invasion of Ukraine into a wider war and direct conflict between the U.S. and Russia.

“Ukraine is grateful to the United States for its overwhelming support,” Zelenskyy said, thanking America for its sanctions and the weapons the U.S. has provided. “I call on you to do more.”

He also called for the U.S. to continue to expand its already-harsh sanctions against Russia, a move that Biden and Congress might be more likely to pursue. The sanctions already put in place have crippled Russia’s economy, destroying the value of the ruble and forcing the country to close its stock market to prevent further panic.

The U.S. has supplied Ukraine with significant military and humanitarian aid. Congress passed a bill last week that included $13.6 billion in money for Ukraine, and the Biden administration plans to announce on Wednesday that it will give $800 million worth of additional weaponry including antiaircraft weapons.

While a no-fly zone seems unlikely, more sanctions on Russia seem possible.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced Zelenskyy by invoking the Ukrainian slogan “Slava Ukrainia”—“Glory to Ukraine.” Members of Congress gave Zelenskyy long, bipartisan standing ovations at the beginning and after the speech. 

Zelenskyy’s address demonstrated his dramatic change in stature in Washington DC. Under former President Trump, Zelenskyy once lobbied fruitlessly for a meeting in the White House that he hoped would show U.S. resolve to stand up to Russian aggression against Ukraine. When he asked Trump for more weapons to ward off a possible attack from Russia, Trump responded “do us a favor,” and asked for dirt on Biden. (The military aid was eventually released.) 

Now, members of both parties are celebrating Zelenskyy’s bravery in the face of Russia’s attack. Some members of Congress have pushed for the administration to provide even more military assistance to Ukraine than the Biden administration has yet been willing to deliver. 

Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse told reporters afterwards that the U.S. should give Ukraine fighter jets and other ammunition.

“They need more javelins, they need more ammo, they need more stingers, they need more SAMs, they need more airplanes. They need more of everything. And they're fighting not just for their kids and their future. They're fighting for the free world,” Sasse said. “We’re a superpower. We should act like it.”

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus and a supporter of a no-fly zone, told the Washington Post afterwards that the U.S. should supply more arms to Ukraine.

“We have to give Ukraine the weapons they need to defend themselves,” Quigley said. “If you don’t want to put troops on the ground, at least protect them in the air.”