The Ukrainian Air Force was destroyed after the Russian invasion.
This was revealed when the US congressman (AS) said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed directly to lawmakers during a Zoom meeting on Saturday morning.
He asked the United States to send military and support aircraft, and impose an oil embargo on Russia.
Another source said Zelensky told US lawmakers that Ukraine needed fighter jets because its air force was destroyed on the first day of the Russian invasion.
He also called for an oil embargo on Russia, which according to him is the most important factor for Ukraine.
Zelensky told lawmakers that if sanctions were imposed in September or October, there will be no invasion.
The urgency of Zelensky's request was obvious from the start. He started off with a comment that read, “This might be the last time you see me alive.”
He warned them that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not stop pursuing Ukraine. Poland and Lithuania, both members of NATO, will be next.
He asked the United States to immediately send planes and troops there to prepare, and to release excess Warsaw Pact aircraft – MiG and Sukov – from Poland and other countries.
A source familiar with the call said the topic of a no-fly zone was also a topic of discussion.
Anggota Kongres AS Mike Quigley, Ukrainian caucus leader, told CBS News by phone that Zelensky stressed that aerial combat is very important and affects everything that happens on the ground.
Close the skies or give us a plane one way or another, because battles are usually won in the air,” Quigley concluded Zelen on CBS News Sunday (3 June 2022) Skye's message to Congress.
According to Quigley, Ukrainian president warmly welcomed by Democrats and Republicans.
“When everyone turns on their microphone, there is great support, general, strong, bipartisan, bicameral,” he said.
“This is historic – He is the leader of a sovereign liberal democracy who speaks live in a beleaguered capital and realizes that he has been the target of the death of an autocratic tyrant.”
Quigley was surprised by Zelensky's calmness and courage, and said he hoped it would be “momentum” enough to get more Ukrainian aid quickly.
In a statement after the phone call, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer noted that Zelensky had requested the purchase of the Russian-made aircraft.
“I will do everything I can to help the government facilitate their transfer,” kata Schumer.
Zelensky also called on lawmakers for more lethal assistance and for the US to cut Visa and Mastercard from Russia, according to a source on the phone.
More than 280 members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives joined in the Zoom call, according to a member of parliament.
Ukraine's president told senators and lawmakers he was grateful for tough sanctions and a unanimous response from the West.
Ukrainian president answers questions from lawmakers after speaking for approx 30 minute. Zelensky thanks US for tough sanctions, which he says has hit Russian business leaders.
he also spoke to Russian soldiers captured by Ukraine, told lawmakers that soldiers often don't know what's really going on in Ukraine or that they're at war.
