The Ukrainian president is set to address Congress on Capitol Hill.
He will also meet congressional leadership and national security committee chiefs from the Republican and Democratic parties, according to Punchbowl News.
Earlier today, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there would be a session of Congress tomorrow night which would have a “very special focus on democracy”.
More on Ukraine
Related Topics:
US politicians are set to vote on a year-end spending package, including around $45bn (£37bn) in emergency assistance to Ukraine. Meanwhile the US is preparing to send Patriot surface-to-air missiles to aid the country in repelling Russia’s invasion.
The funding would be the biggest American infusion of assistance yet to Ukraine, surpassing President Biden’s $37bn (£30bn) emergency request and will ensure funding flows to the war effort for months to come.
Advertisement
Mr Zelenskyy has addressed various parliaments and international organisations by video throughout Russia’s invasion and has sent his wife to foreign capitals to call for support.
A highly symbolic trip to seal the deal on prolonged support
There’s the symbolism, and more.
Consider the images of a Ukrainian president with the freedom to travel, to address influential friends on Capitol Hill, and to shake hands on a deal for prolonged support and state-of-the-art weaponry.
It will be the picture to celebrate Ukrainian resilience and cement US backing. And for two presidents touching base, it’s timely.
Both will have noted the US lobby is against prolonging support for Ukraine.
Opinion polls indicate growing scepticism, articulated out loud by some figures in a Republican Party that will control the House of Representatives in the New Year.
This Biden-Zelenskyy meeting and the deal it seals pre-empts political complications that neither man wants.
Mr Biden’s big sell is in the long-term strategic benefit of a weakened Russia and a United States strengthened by leadership.
He is also invested in any future peace deal being done on terms favourable to the Ukrainian side, his side in this conflict.
When Mr Biden meets Mr Zelenskyy, they will talk big money for a high-stakes investment.
A surprise visit to troops on the frontline
It comes after Mr Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to troops in the frontline city of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s contested Donetsk province.
Visiting the scene of some of the most intense combat since Russia invaded Ukraine, Mr Zelenskyy praised his troops’ “courage, resilience and strength”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:48
Zelenskyy says he believes Russia must be held accountable
In a video released by his office, Mr Zelenskyy was handed a Ukrainian flag and hinted at delivering it to US leaders.
“The guys handed over our beautiful Ukrainian flag with their signatures for us to pass on,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
“We are not in an easy situation. The enemy is increasing its army, and our people are braver and need more powerful weapons. We will pass it on from the boys to the Congress, to the president of the United States. We are grateful for their support, but it is not enough. It is a hint – it is not enough.”
Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.
The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.
The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Image: Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Image: The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.
While the UK’s FTSE 100 closed down 1.55% and the continent’s STOXX Europe 600 index was down 2.67% as of 5.30pm, it was American traders who were hit the most.
All three of the US’s major markets opened to sharp losses on Thursday morning.
Image: The S&P 500 is set for its worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. File pic: AP
By 8.30pm UK time (3.30pm EST), The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 3.7%, the S&P 500 opened with a drop of 4.4%, and the Nasdaq composite was down 5.6%.
Compared to their values when Donald Trump was inaugurated, the three markets were down around 5.6%, 8.7% and 14.4%, respectively, according to LSEG.
More on Donald Trump
Related Topics:
Worst one-day losses since COVID
As Wall Street trading ended at 9pm in the UK, two indexes had suffered their worst one-day losses since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The S&P 500 fell 4.85%, the Nasdaq dropped 6%, and the Dow Jones fell 4%.
It marks Nasdaq’s biggest daily percentage drop since March 2020 at the start of COVID, and the largest drop for the Dow Jones since June 2020.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
5:07
The latest numbers on tariffs
‘Trust in President Trump’
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN earlier in the day that Mr Trump was “doubling down on his proven economic formula from his first term”.
“To anyone on Wall Street this morning, I would say trust in President Trump,” she told the broadcaster, adding: “This is indeed a national emergency… and it’s about time we have a president who actually does something about it.”
Later, the US president told reporters as he left the White House that “I think it’s going very well,” adding: “The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom.”
He later said on Air Force One that the UK is “happy” with its tariff – the lowest possible levy of 10% – and added he would be open to negotiations if other countries “offer something phenomenal”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
3:27
How is the world reacting to Trump’s tariffs?
Economist warns of ‘spiral of doom’
The turbulence in the markets from Mr Trump’s tariffs “just left everybody in shock”, Garrett Melson, portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions in Boston, told Reuters.
He added that the economy could go into recession as a result, saying that “a lot of the pain, will probably most acutely be felt in the US and that certainly would weigh on broader global growth as well”.
Meanwhile, chief investment officer at St James’s Place Justin Onuekwusi said that international retaliation is likely, even as “it’s clear countries will think about how to retaliate in a politically astute way”.
He warned: “Significant retaliation could lead to a tariff ‘spiral of doom’ that could be the growth shock that drags us into recession.”
It comes as the UK government published a long list of US products that could be subject to reciprocal tariffs – including golf clubs and golf balls.
Running to more than 400 pages, the list is part of a four-week-long consultation with British businesses and suggests whiskey, jeans, livestock, and chemical components.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday that the US president had launched a “new era” for global trade and that the UK will respond with “cool and calm heads”.
It also comes as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a 25% tariff on all American-imported vehicles that are not compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal.
He added: “The 80-year period when the United States embraced the mantle of global economic leadership, when it forged alliances rooted in trust and mutual respect and championed the free and open exchange of goods and services, is over. This is a tragedy.”