Olena Zelenska appeals to Congress for more weapons to stop Russian ‘Hunger Games’ in Ukraine

Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine, received a standing ovation at Congress after appealing for the US to supply more weapons and air defence systems to stop “Russia’s Hunger Games” in her country.

Zelenska, 44, told American senators and representatives the stories of families torn apart by Russian bombs and bullets, illustrated with photos of children, mothers, fathers and grandparents killed in the war.

She thanked the US for its help in arming Ukraine but pleaded for more defensive weaponry to protect against Russian missiles, saying she was speaking for her husband, President Zelensky, as parents and children themselves.

“While Russia kills, America saves,” she said, speaking in an auditorium where her husband addressed members of Congress three weeks into the war via videolink.

“We thank you for that. Unfortunately, the war is not over, the terror continues,” she said, speaking in Ukrainian which was simultaneously translated. “I appeal to all of you on behalf of those who were killed, on behalf of those people who lost their arms and legs, on behalf of those who are still alive and well, and those who wait for their families to come back from the front.

 “I’m asking for weapons, weapons that would not be used to wage a war on somebody else’s land but to protect one’s home and the right to wake up alive in that home. I’m asking for air defence systems in order for rockets not to kill children in their strollers, in order for rockets not to destroy children’s rooms, and kill entire families.”

America has agreed this year to spend $54 billion on Ukraine for economic support, humanitarian aid and military assistance and equipment. It has already sent or earmarked around $ 9 billion in weaponry. The Pentagon last month announced that it will supply advanced mid- to long-range air defence systems and counter-artillery radars but that these will take weeks or months to arrive and require training.

Zelenska, a former comedy writer who met her husband writing sketches for him, is on a week-long trip to Washington in her most high-profile mission as first lady, to keep Ukraine at the front of American minds as it faces the test of soaring inflation partly caused by its response to the war.

She emulated her husband in employing American cultural references to drive home her message. She spoke about three-year-old Andriy who is learning how to use prosthetic limbs in Germany after his family home was bombed by the Russians.

 “How many families like this may still be destroyed by the war? Those are Russia’s Hunger Games, hunting for peaceful people in peaceful cities of Ukraine. They will never broadcast this on their news. That’s why I’m showing it to you.”

She ended with a message to members of Congress who are preparing for their summer recess, a “normalcy” Ukrainians yearn for.

“Will my son be able to return to his school in the fall? I don’t know, like millions of mothers in Ukraine. Will my daughter be able to go to university at the beginning of the academic year? And experience normal student life? I cannot answer. What should Ukrainian teachers prepare for? To work in classrooms? Or in bomb shelters? We would have answers if we had air defence systems.”

She concluded: “In fact, the answer is right here in Washington DC. … Help us to stop this terror against Ukrainians and this will be our joy, our great victory in the name of life, freedom and the pursuit of happiness of every person, every family. This is what I’m asking for and what my husband is asking for, not as a presidential couple, but as parents and children of their parents. … I hope you heard me today. And I hope that your decisions will be speedy. Thank you for your attention. Glory to Ukraine.”

In an interview with NBC, Zelenska said that Russia’s invasion had made her son want to become a soldier. The only thing Kyrylo, 9, wanted to do is “martial arts and how to use a rifle”.

She added that she hoped her son’s childhood would be “given back” to him. “Before the war, my son used to go to the folk dance ensemble. He played piano. He learnt English,” she said.

But following Russia’s invasion, “obviously he wants to be a soldier,” she said. “I cannot bring him back to doing arts and humanities. And that’s what I really want to ensure is that the childhood of my son is given back to him, and that he enjoys his life to the fullest.”

Zelenska, who is also mother to 18-year-old Oleksandra, has spoken of the plight of other children and parents during her visit to the US.