Volodymyr Zelenskyy kicks off key US trip with visit to ammunition factory
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has kicked off an important trip to the US this week with a visit to an ammunition factory in Pennsylvania.
The site, which Sky News visited in 2023, produces critically needed munitions for his country’s fight against Russia.
Democratic representative Matt Cartwright, who was among those meeting Mr Zelenskyy at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, said that the Ukrainian leader had a simple message: “Thank you. And we need more.”
Mr Zelenskyy faces a busy week in the US as he works to shore up support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia.
He is due to speak at the UN General Assembly annual gathering in New York on Tuesday and Wednesday, and travel to Washington on Thursday for talks with President Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Scranton plant. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Recent weeks have seen Mr Zelenskyy pushing the US, and other Western allies, for permission to use longer-range missile systems to strike deeper into Russia.
So far the Pentagon and White House have not green-lit the loosening of restrictions. There has been hesitation due to the possibility of a US-made missile hitting Moscow, which could escalate the war.
Mr Zelenskyy will also present his “victory plan” to the US – of which the long-range weapons systems are said to be key.
But his trip comes at a key juncture for his country, as a victory for Donald Trump in the 5 November US presidential elections could prompt a reset of Washington’s policy on Ukraine.
During a TV debate earlier this month, Mr Trump refused to say if he wanted Ukraine to defeat Russia and said he would try to end the war before taking office if he wins.
The area around the plant was sealed off ahead of Mr Zelenskyy’s trip on Sunday, with rubbish trucks positioned as roadblocks and a heavy police presence visible.
As Mr Zelenskyy’s motorcade entered the ammunition plant, a small contingent of supporters waved Ukrainian flags nearby.
“It’s unfortunate that we need a plant like this, but it’s here, and it’s here to protect the world,” said Vera Kowal Krewson, a first-generation Ukrainian American who was among the small crowd. “And I strongly feel that way.”
A small group of supporters waved Ukrainian flags during Mr Zelenskyy’s visit to the munitions plant. Pic: AP
Mr Zelenskyy speaking during his visit to the plant. Pic: Reuters
Laryssa Salak, 60, whose parents also immigrated from Ukraine, said she was pleased Mr Zelenskyy came to thank the workers.
But she said it upset her that funding for Ukraine’s defence against Russia divided Americans, and that even some of her friends opposed the support, saying the money should instead go to help Americans.
“But they don’t understand that that money does not directly go to Ukraine,” Ms Salak said. “It goes to American factories that manufacture, like here, like the ammunition. So that money goes to American workers as well. And a lot of people don’t understand that.”
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The Scranton plant is one of the few facilities in the US that manufactures 155mm artillery shells and it has stepped up production in the last year.
These are used in howitzer systems, which are highly valued by ground forces in taking out enemy targets from a distance.
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At one point in the war, Ukraine was firing between 6,000-8,000 155mm shells per day.
The rate started to deplete US stockpiles, prompting concern.
In response, the US invested in restarting production lines and now manufactures more than 40,000 155mm shells a month – with plans to hit 100,000 a month.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
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This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
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Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
A farmer who fell from a greenhouse roof during an anti-immigrant raid at a licensed cannabis facility in California this week has died of his injuries.
Jaime Alanis, 57, is the first person to die as a result of Donald Trump’s Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) raids.
His niece, Yesenia Duran, posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe to say her uncle was his family’s only provider and he had been sending his earnings back to his wife and daughter in Mexico.
The United Food Workers said Mr Alanis had worked on the farm for 10 years.
“These violent and cruel federal actions terrorise American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families,” the union said in a recent statement on X.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it executed criminal search warrants at Glass House Farms facilities on Thursday.
Mr Alanis called family to say he was hiding and possibly fleeing agents before he fell around 30ft (9m) from the roof and broke his neck, according to information from family, hospital and government sources.
Agents arrested 200 people suspected of being in the country illegally and identified at least 10 immigrant children on the sites, the DHS said in a statement.
Mr Alanis was not among them, the agency said.
“This man was not in and has not been in CBP (Customs and Border Protection) or ICE custody,” DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.
“Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell 30ft. CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.”
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Four US citizens were arrested during the incident for allegedly “assaulting or resisting officers”, the DHS said, and authorities were offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents.
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In a statement, Glass House, a licensed Cannabis grower, said immigration agents had valid warrants. It said workers were detained and it is helping provide them with legal representation.
“Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,” it added.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
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Will Trump address parliament on UK state visit?
This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
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Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
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