Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held a meeting with a delegation of politicians, businessmen and representatives of United States charities led by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The head of state noted the importance of such visits and meetings, which are a powerful signal of support for Ukrainians in our fight for freedom and democracy, the press service of the Office of the President reported Tuesday.
“I’m glad to see you have come with your friends,” the president said, addressing Mike Pompeo. – Comprehensive American support is very important to us.”
During the meeting, the head of state invited American business to actively invest in Ukraine. “We are open to this, we are ready to provide you with full assistance. It is very important for us,” he said.
Zelensky informed about business development opportunities in construction, agriculture, IT technology, etc. The president also emphasized the importance of continuing and strengthening defense assistance and joint development of defense technologies, taking into account the experience acquired by Ukraine during the war. “Invest in business, because business is what creates jobs. We are interested in people being able to find jobs and the budget getting revenue to strengthen our capabilities on the battlefield,” summarized the head of state.
A number of other topical issues were also discussed, in particular Ukraine’s movement to NATO, the importance of further strengthening the sanctions pressure on Russia. Zelenski noted the activities of American charitable organizations, whose representatives were present at the meeting, focused on helping displaced people, rebuilding destroyed housing stock, providing medical care, and providing drinking water and food.
The head of the US Department of State’s Interagency Assistance Department, Daphne Rand, has confirmed that Washington intends to provide Ukraine with an additional $9.9bn in budget support.
“The U.S. has provided $13 billion in budget support to the government of Ukraine, and we are working with Congress to provide another $9.9 billion in the coming months,” Rand told reporters.
She added that Washington “remains committed to working with the government of Ukraine to maintain its operational capacity and provide additional budget support as needed.”
The Washington Post reported earlier this week that the U.S. government is working to have Congress approve an additional $10 billion military aid package for Ukraine.
The newspaper noted that the next military aid package is expected to be announced next week, almost simultaneously with the announcement of additional sanctions against Russia.
At the same time, the newspaper wrote that a number of U.S. officials who visited Ukraine recently told Kiev that despite promises to support Ukraine “as long as necessary,” Washington expects to use the aid already provided more effectively.
Rand did not say what was planned to be included in the new aid package to Kiev. At the same time, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on the sidelines of a contact group meeting on Ukraine’s defense in Brussels that the West’s current urgent task is to provide Kiev with air defense equipment.
“We know that Russia has a significant number of aircraft and a lot of capacity,” he told reporters. – That’s why we stressed that we need to do everything in our power to provide Ukraine with as much air defense capability as possible.”
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the United States for a package of assistance, including Avenger air defense systems
“Thank you Joe Biden and friendly U.S. people for showing solidarity once again – an aid package including Avenger air defense systems and missiles for Hawk air defense systems. Together we’re building an air shield to protect Ukraine’s civilians. We’re bringing victory over the aggressor closer!” He said on Twitter on Thursday evening.
The United States Congress on Friday approved a bill to provide Ukraine with a $12.3 billion military and economic aid package, The New Yorks Times reports.
“On Friday, Congress gave final approval to a short-term package that would allow the government to operate until mid-December and avoid a midnight shutdown, as well as send about $12.3 billion in military and economic assistance to Ukraine,” the statement said.
It clarifies that the House of Representatives passed the document less than 12 hours before the funding deadline and submitted it to President Biden for signature.
This will allow the government to work until December 16, giving lawmakers time to iron out significant disagreements over a dozen annual spending bills.
According to them, the package of said assistance includes the third tranche of assistance to Ukraine to fight Russia, in addition to the total amount of about $54 billion approved earlier this year.
“Following Friday’s vote, Congress has given Ukraine more military aid than any other country in a single year since the Vietnam War, signaling a remarkable bipartisan consensus in favor of pouring massive amounts of American resources into the fight as the country seeks to wrest much of its power from Russia. territory,” the reporters said.
The presentation of the Olena Zelenska Foundation, wife of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, took place at a charity evening in New York at the venue presented by the Metropolitan Opera.
As reported on the website of the head of the Ukrainian state on Friday, the Foundation’s primary goal is to restore Ukraine’s human capital “so that every Ukrainian feels physically and mentally healthy, protected, and able to exercise their right to education, work, and build a future in Ukraine.”
“Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, we have managed to do a lot. We have organised 20 convoys of life, which made it possible to evacuate more than 550 children with cancer to hospitals in Europe, the USA and Canada. We hosted the First Ladies and Gentlemen Summit to raise money and purchase more than 80 ambulances. We evacuated children from orphanages for their temporary stay abroad. We provided humanitarian aid to family-type orphanages. But every day brings more and more requests and needs. More funding is needed. That is why I am creating the Foundation. The Foundation will make it possible to significantly scale assistance to people and provide proper treatment and decent education to everyone who needs it,” Olena Zelenska said.
The Foundation has three key directions: medicine, education and humanitarian aid. Within these areas, it will provide targeted assistance, invest in reconstructing preschool and school education institutions, polyclinics and outpatient clinics, and provide grants for training and scientific developments. For anyone interested in learning more about the Foundation, please visit zelenskafoundation.org for more information.
“The war goes on, but so does life. It paves its way to recovery even during the war. The task of the Foundation is to help life win. And for this, we need hospitals, schools, and education,” Olena Zelenska said.
The First Lady noted that global political and business leaders gathered this week for the 77th UN General Assembly in New York. They also became the guests of the charity evening on the occasion of the Foundation presentation. In particular, the event was attended by: former US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom James Cleverly, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York Peter Gelb, American TV host and actor Jimmy Fallon, actor Matt Damon, actress Brooke Shields, as well as a wide circle of diplomats and businessmen. All guests of the charity evening on the occasion of the Foundation presentation could contribute to the reconstruction projects in Ukraine.
The President of Ukraine joined the charity evening remotely from Kyiv. “We are fighting for freedom and protecting our people. We are doing everything possible to engage our friends – friends of freedom – worldwide who are willing to contribute to our struggle,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Scientists from the US National Institutes of Health recently found that tea has a beneficial effect on human health.
So, according to the study, those who drink at least two cups of black tea a day are more likely to live a long life than those who do not drink tea at all.
The researchers analyzed data from the British Biobank Genetic Information Repository of nearly 500,000 men and women aged 40 to 69 living in the UK.
As it turned out, 85% of these people regularly consumed tea. This is not surprising, given the love of the British population for tea and the traditions associated with this drink.
The results showed that the risk of death in the middle age group from diseases associated with the cardiovascular system is 9-13% lower in those who drink at least two cups of tea per day than in those who refuse this drink in general. .
At the same time, the authors of the study note that it does not matter exactly how you drink tea – with milk, sugar or lemon, the presence of the drink itself in your diet is important.
Professor of Medical Sciences and one of the authors of this work, Fernando Artalejo, however, notes that it is still impossible to say categorically that it was tea that caused less mortality in the studied population category. According to him, it cannot be ruled out that there were other factors not related to the use of tea.
Meanwhile, Chinese scientists have also reached similar conclusions about a possible connection between tea consumption and health effects. They found that the risk of dementia and heart attack is lower in people who drink two to three cups of coffee a day, or three to five cups of tea a day.
