KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has led a congressional delegation to Kyiv to meet with Ukraine’s president before heading to Poland for talks with officials there on Sunday.
Pelosi, a California Democrat who is second in line to the presidency after the vice president, is the most senior American lawmaker to visit Ukraine since Russia’s war began more than two months ago. Her visit to Kyiv on Saturday marks a major show of continuing support for the country’s struggle against Moscow.
“Our delegation traveled to Kyiv to send an unmistakable and resounding message to the entire world: America stands firmly with Ukraine,” Pelosi said in a statement released Sunday.
Footage released by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office showed Pelosi and other U.S. legislators in Kyiv. In video later released by Pelosi’s office, the speaker and Zelenskyy both thanked each other for their support in the war.
Pelosi told Zelenskyy: “We believe that we are visiting you to say thank you for your fight for freedom.”
“We are on a frontier of freedom and your fight is a fight for everyone. Our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done,” Pelosi added.
The visit was not previously announced.
– Associated Press