Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, heading a congressional delegation, in the capital, Kyiv, on Sunday. According to a video shared by Zelensky on his Twitter account, Pelosi stated, "We believe we are visiting you to say thank you for fighting for freedom. You are fighting a battle for everyone. We are committed to supporting you until the fighting is over." Among the accompanying delegation were lawmakers Jason Crow, Jim McGovern, and Adam Schiff. It is noteworthy that the visit was not previously announced.
Earlier, Zelensky confirmed that he would rebuild the Odessa airport runway that Russia put out of service, stating that Odessa will never forget what Russia has done to it. The governor of the Odessa region, Maksym Marchenko, announced that Russia had bombed the runway with a missile launched from Crimea, which had officially opened last July, and explained that the strategic port on the Black Sea is no longer usable. Marchenko added in a video posted on social media, "We thank God that no one was injured. We are taking measures to address the damage in the area." The Ukrainian army stated that the airport was no longer usable. Odessa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov mentioned that it took ten years to design and build the new runway that was officially opened last July.
As the Russian military operation on Ukrainian territory entered its third month, President Zelensky asserted that Russia deliberately destroyed the country's infrastructure and closed ports to pressure his country's forces. In a nighttime video message, he stated, "The occupiers intentionally destroyed the infrastructure for the production, supply, and storage of fuel" in the country. He also added that "Russia has also closed the Ukrainian ports, so there are no immediate solutions to address the current shortfall."
