Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet this week with U.S. senators

Washington — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with a bipartisan group of senators on Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office said. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson was unsure if members from the lower chamber would also be meeting with Zelenskyy. 

“I don’t know if it’s on our schedule or not,” Johnson said at the weekly news conference on Tuesday. “Our Thursday is very fluid here.” 

Johnson said Thursday’s schedule was “very fluid,” citing the House’s plans to pass a short-term funding bill to keep the government open through Dec. 20. The House is planning to hold a vote Wednesday on the measure. 

The Ukrainian leader is also scheduled to meet separately with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday at the White House to brief them on his “victory plan” in the war against Russia, which has dragged on for two and half years. 

Ukraine has pushed the U.S. and NATO to lift restrictions on its use of Western-supplied long-range missiles against targets in Russian territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Kyiv’s use of long-range missiles to hit targets deep inside his country would represent a major escalation of NATO’s involvement in the war. 

Zelenskyy is in the U.S. to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he will deliver remarks Wednesday. 

He also toured an ammunition manufacturing plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Sunday. 

contributed to this report.