Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena Zelenska, will be in Salt Lake City for a National Governors Association meeting, according to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.
“We’re honored to welcome President Zelenskyy and First Lady Zelenska to Utah and the National Governors Association,” the governor posted on X. “Utah stands behind Ukraine and we look forward to hearing his message to the nation’s governors.”
Jonathan Freedman, the honorary consul of Ukraine and president and CEO of World Trade Center Utah, said having Zelenskyy and Zelenska at the NGA meeting on Friday is a testament to the strong and enduring relationship between Ukraine and the United States.
“The visit includes engagements with business and community leaders and represents a significant opportunity to foster dialogue and collaboration on crucial economic and humanitarian issues,” he said. “This visit underscores our collective commitment to strengthening international ties and supporting Ukraine during these challenging times. We look forward to a successful and impactful visit, reinforcing the bonds of friendship and cooperation between our regions.”
It was not immediately clear what Zelenskyy would speak about to governors and other assembled business, academic and guests. Zelenskyy is in the U.S. asking for additional aid for Ukraine from the leaders of NATO countries, including President Joe Biden, who are gathered in Washington, D.C., this week.
“What we are witnessing in Ukraine is indicative of the global fight being waged between authoritarianism and democracy. I welcome President Zelenskyy and First Lady Zelenska’s visit to Utah to speak with governors from across our country,” Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, posted on X.
On Thursday, Biden announced a new aid military aid package for Ukraine and tol Zelenskyy: “We will stay with you, period,” the Associated Press reported.
Zelenskyy also pushed for the help to arrive faster and for restrictions to be lifted on the use of U.S. weapons to attack military targets inside Russia.
“If we want to win, if we want to prevail, if we want to save our country and to defend it, we need to lift all the limitations,” he said standing alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, as the summit wound down.
The Biden administration allows Ukraine to fire American-made weapons into Russian territory only for the purpose of hitting back against Russian forces that are attacking or preparing to attack them, concerned that the broader use of the weaponry could provoke Russia to widen the war, per the AP. Zelenskyy has been pressing for greater latitude so that U.S. weapons could be used to hit critical military bases and installations deeper in Russian territory.
What Zelenskyy said about Trump
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy said that decisive action must be taken before the U.S. presidential election in November to repel Russia’s offensive against Ukraine in a speech outside the NATO summit where he pushed for greater support during a pivotal but tumultuous stretch in America’s political calendar, The Associated Press reported.
“It’s time to step out of the shadows to make strong decisions to act and not wait for November or any other months to descend. We must be strong and uncompromising all together,” Zelenskyy said, speaking at the Reagan Institute, named after Republican icon Ronald Reagan.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was among the Republican heavyweights in the audience, per the AP.
Former President Donald Trump is skeptical of NATO and has criticized allies for not meeting defense spending goals. Zelenskyy expressed hope that the U.S. would continue to support both NATO and Ukraine if Trump is reelected.
“I hope that if the people of America will elect President Trump, I hope that his policy with Ukraine will not change,” Zelenskyy said in a question-and-answer session with Fox News host Bret Baier after his speech. “I hope that the United States will never go out from NATO.”
Otherwise, he said, “the world will lose a lot of countries” that “count on America.”
Will Ukraine join NATO?
Zelenskyy is seeking aid from NATO as well as membership in the alliance, but NATO won’t admit a new member until the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is resolved.
More than 60 foreign policy experts at U.S. universities and thinks tanks argued in a recent open letter against allowing Ukraine to join NATO.
“Dangling NATO membership for Ukraine does a disservice to Ukrainians who are bravely fighting for their independence. The closer NATO comes to promising that Ukraine will join the alliance once the war ends, the greater the incentive for Russia to keep fighting the war and killing Ukrainians so as to forestall Ukraine’s integration into NATO,” they wrote in the letter first published by Politico.
The academics wrote that the challenges Russia poses can be managed without bringing Ukraine into NATO. “Moving Ukraine toward membership in the alliance could make the problem worse, turning Ukraine into the site of a prolonged showdown between the world’s two leading nuclear powers and playing into Vladimir Putin’s narrative that he is fighting the West in Ukraine rather than the people of Ukraine.”
Whether Zelenskyy will address any of those issues while speaking the nations’ governors in Utah isn’t known.
The NGA is chaired by Cox, who has made the focus of the group’s summer meeting his initiative “Disagree Better.” The initiative encourages Americans and lawmakers to find ways to address their differences in a more civil and productive way.
Attendees at the NGA conference in Salt Lake City include more than a dozen governors, former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, who is currently president of the University of Florida, and actor Matthew McConaughey.
At the NATO meeting this week, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said supporting Ukraine was the defense alliance’s “most urgent task.” He also said that “Ukraine is moving closer to NATO,” a statement that has drawn criticism from some Republican lawmakers.