Washington (AFP) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has not left his country since the Russian invasion on February 24, arrived in Washington on Wednesday, which announced that it would provide his country with the most advanced Patriot air defense system.

President Joe Biden will receive his Ukrainian counterpart at the White House before the latter addresses the US Congress as part of this historic visit.

On this occasion, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced, "Today's assistance package includes, for the first time, the Patriot air defense system, which is capable of shooting down intercontinental missiles, short-range ballistic missiles, and aircraft flying at altitudes that clearly exceed the capabilities of the defense systems that have been delivered so far."

For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Wednesday to continue developing the capabilities of his army and its nuclear power, disavowing any responsibility for the "common tragedy" in Ukraine.

In an intervention he delivered during an expanded meeting with senior officers, Putin announced that new intercontinental Zircon hypersonic missiles would enter service "beginning of January," stressing his intention to increase the number of the Russian army to 1.5 million soldiers.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said one of the "priorities" would be "to continue to carry out the special operation (in Ukraine) until all its goals are fulfilled."

Shoigu considered that in Ukraine, "the Russian military is confronting the combined forces of the West," adding that "the growing presence of the West at our borders and the borders of Belarus, and the West's intention to extend military operations in Ukraine to the maximum extent with the aim of weakening our country, are of particular concern."

US presidential spokeswoman Karen Jean-Pierre said in a statement that Zelensky's visit confirms that the United States will support Ukraine "as long as necessary."

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that new US arms shipments to Ukraine would only "exacerbate" the conflict with Russia. "All this certainly exacerbates the conflict and does not bode well for Ukraine," said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, referring to new arms shipments to Kiev.

And the Ukrainian president confirmed in a tweet on Wednesday morning that he was "on his way to the United States to strengthen the resilience and defense capabilities" of Ukraine.

On September 1, 2021, President Joe Biden received Zelensky in the Oval Office and promised him his support in confronting Russia.

On Wednesday, the two men will meet in the same place, but in a meeting that takes a different historical dimension, as it is the first physical meeting since Russia invaded Ukraine, which made Zelensky the war leader known all over the world, and Joe Biden, the supreme leader of the Western response to Russia.

During this visit, which is surrounded by very tight security measures and will only take "short hours", the Ukrainian president will first hold a meeting with the US president and his apparatus at the White House, before holding a press conference, as a senior US official explained during a meeting with reporters.

US parliamentarians are preparing to vote on a new package of aid to Ukraine worth about $45 billion.
They will hear Zelensky's speech as Congress partially shifts to the side of the Republican opposition in January, which raises some questions about the future policy of the United States on Ukraine.

During a visit to the front on Tuesday, in the city of Bakhmut (east), the Ukrainian president gave a sign upon receiving the flag from the fighters, saying, "We will give it to the US Congress, to the US president. We are grateful for their support, but this is not enough."

The United States is the largest donor to Kiev by a large margin, and according to expert estimates, it provided about 50 billion dollars in aid to Ukraine, including 20 billion dollars in arms and military assistance.

On the ground, the fighting continued on Wednesday, as the Ukrainian General Staff reported Russian attacks and shelling in the east and northeast.

At least three people were killed and 14 injured in strikes on the Donetsk and Kherson regions, according to local authorities.

The Russian military said it had captured "new heights and base lines" near Donetsk, a stronghold of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

After a series of Russian military setbacks in northeastern and southern Ukraine, the bulk of the fighting is currently concentrated in the east. Russia has been carrying out massive bombing of Ukrainian infrastructure since October, causing power and water outages.

The delivery of the Patriot systems is intended to respond to these attacks.