Zelensky urges US counterpart Biden to visit Ukrainian capital
President Zelensky has urged his US counterpart Joe Biden to visit Ukraine to see how war has hit Kyiv on the ground.
The White House is reportedly mulling the decision to send over a senior official to the Ukrainian capital, with defence secretary Lloyd Austin and secretary of state Anthony Blinked thought to be frontrunners.
Speaking in a CNN interview, the Ukrainian president said: “I think he will. I mean, his decision, of course. And as well, the safety situation depends – I mean that – but I think he’s the leader of the United States, and that’s why he should come here to see.”
It follows British prime minister Boris Johnson visiting the country two weeks ago, which has prompted the Kremlin to ban Johnson from Russia, alongside other senior officials.
Top government figures to be banned include foreign secretary Liz Truss, defence secretary Ben Wallace, deputy prime minister Dominic Raab, and home secretary Priti Patel. The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has also been banned.
It would take a rigorous security operation to see Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris enter Kyiv.
Zelensky has also warned that Russia may deploy chemical or tactical nuclear weapons in the conflict.
“Not only me, all of the world, all of the countries have to be worried… because it [use of nuclear weapons] can be not real information, but it can be truth,” he said. “Chemical weapons… they could do it, for them the life of the people, nothing. That’s why.
“We should think not be afraid, not be afraid but be ready. But that is not a question for Ukraine, not only for Ukraine but for all the world, I think.”