Washington, Dec 21 – The military uniform of the President of Ukraine, Volodímir Zelenski, or the flag signed by soldiers of his country that he delivered to the United States Congress are part of the anecdotes of the Ukrainian’s first trip abroad since the beginning of the Russian invasion of his country.
Beyond the importance of this trip and the Patriot missiles that the Government of US President Joe Biden announced that it is going to send to Ukraine, if there is anything that was discussed on social networks and in the The main media was about the military clothing that Zelensky was wearing, and specifically his sweatshirt.
Unlike other foreign leaders, who usually wear jackets when they go to the Oval Office, Zelensky was faithful to his promise not to remove his military uniform until the end of the war and appeared before Biden in a sweatshirt and khaki pants.
The attention was such that it aroused the term “sweatshirt” (sweatshirt) was a “trending topic” for hours on Twitter in the US, and television channels such as CNN spent minutes and minutes throughout the day analyzing the symbolism of his attire.
Another of the moments that will be recorded from this day will be the warm welcome from the US president, who hugged Zelenski from behind to accompany him inside the White House.
During the press conference that both gave after their bilateral meeting, the Ukrainian flaunted his comedic skills and made the assembled journalists laugh when he thanked the shipment of Patriot anti-aircraft batteries to his country, but not content with it, he asked for “more”.
From the presidential mansion Zelenski moved to the Capitol, where he delivered a speech before both houses of Congress.
Many legislators were dressed in the colors of the Ukrainian flag (blue and yellow) and, as soon as they arrived, the Ukrainian president received a standing ovation of about four minutes that only stopped when the leader of the House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, spoke to present it.
Zelensky spoke from the lectern in the floor with Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris, who was there as Speaker of the Senate, standing behind.
The president presented both with a Ukrainian flag, which he himself had received on Tuesday from the soldiers deployed in Bakhmut, in the Donestk region, one of the points where the Ukrainian and Russian armies are fighting most intensely.
The flag was signed by Ukrainian soldiers and Zelenski handed it over to the Congress leaders to thank the military aid sent to his country.
In exchange, Pelosi gave him a folded US flag that was flying this Wednesday at the Capitol.