Russia-Ukraine war live updates: Russian defence minister visits Ukraine frontline

The ministry released footage showing Shoigu inspecting barracks and walking through trenches.

Russia's Rosatom state nuclear energy company said on Thursday that talks with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi about a safe zone around Ukraine's Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant would continue.Rosatom said that the two sides' positions were "close" to each other.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy faced a critical audience when he addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday: House Republicans who could hold up billions of dollars in war aid starting next month.

President Joe Biden's administration has sent almost $50 billion in foreign assistance to Ukraine since Russia began its invasion of its neighbor in February, including humanitarian, financial and military support. Congress, currently controlled by Biden's Democrats, is expected to approve $44.9 billion more this week in a bill funding the federal government.

It remains to be seen whether congressional support for Ukraine will change after Republicans take control of the House of Representatives next month. Biden's fellow Democrats retained control of the Senate in the November midterm elections.

Zelenskiy stressed as he began his speech that he was addressing both Democrats and Republicans.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the US Congress that he proposed a 10-point “peace formula” during his meeting with President Joe Biden, which he hoped would result in joint security guarantees for decades ahead.

Zelenskyy, 44, met President Biden in the Oval Office and jointly addressed a press conference at the White House on Wednesday.

He was given the rare distinction of addressing a joint session of the US Congress on a day packed with back-to-back meetings.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was given a hero's welcome here as he stepped out of his war-ravaged country for the first time after the Russian invasion 300 days ago.

Zelensky, 44, met US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office and jointly addressed a press conference at the White House on Wednesday. He was given the rare distinction of addressing a joint session of the US Congress on a day packed with back-to-back meetings.

“(your) leadership through this terrible crisis has inspired the Ukrainian people, as you have done, President, and the American people and the entire world,” Biden told him at a joint news conference at the White House.

“As we head into the New Year, it's important for the American people and for the world to hear directly from you, President, about Ukraine's fight and the need to continue to stand together through 2023,” Biden said.

Incidentally, Zelenskyy's visit also marks 300 days after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Biden described as an unprovoked, unjustified all-out assault on the free people of Ukraine.

Days before the year-end holiday, downtown Washington's streets were dominated Wednesday not just by Christmas decor but by the flag of Ukraine, marking the surprise visit to the US capital by Volodymyr Zelensky.

Pennsylvania Avenue, the grand boulevard which links the White House and Congress, was blocked off for the one-day visit of Ukraine's president, while banners of Ukrainian yellow and blue were paired with the US flag's red, white and blue.

Outside of the White House, Zelensky's first stop of the day, television cameras from around the world were there to record the visit of the wartime leader, his only known trip outside his country since Russia invaded exactly 300 days ago.

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy told cheering U.S. legislators during a defiant wartime visit to the nation’s capital on Wednesday that against all odds his country still stands, thanking Americans for helping to fund the war effort with money that is “not charity,” but an “investment” in global security and democracy.

The whirlwind stop in Washington — his first known trip outside his country since Russia invaded in February — was aimed at reinvigorating support for his country in the U.S. and around the world at a time when there is concern that allies are growing weary of the costly war and its disruption to global food and energy supplies.

Zelenskyy called the tens of billions of dollars in U.S. military and economic assistance provided over the past year vital to Ukraine’s efforts to beat back Russia and appealed for even more in the future.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday directly appealed for long-term US support on his first foreign trip since Russia's invasion, saying aid was not "charity" and had helped keep his country "alive and kicking."

Three hundred days after Russian leader Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine with hopes of swift conquest, Zelensky enjoyed a hero's welcome on a lightning trip to Washington where President Joe Biden committed nearly $1.8 billion in military supplies including, for the first time, the Patriot missile defense system.

Zelensky -- whose media savvy and rugged demeanor have helped rally world opinion -- wore his trademark green military fatigues as he held talks at the White House and addressed Congress, where he handed over an Ukrainian flag fresh from the battlefield.