In one of the defining moments from Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington, after delivering a speech to Congress, he turned around to face Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, handed her a flag signed by the soldiers of Bakhmut on the front lines in Donbas and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
The Ukrainian president had just given a searing address to a joint session of Congress to both thank the US for its support and plead for the help to keep coming. After receiving a series of standing ovations, he walked away from the chamber with the American flag that had flown above the Capitol building on Wednesday, a gift from Pelosi.
“We stand, we fight and we will win because we are united,” Zelenskyy said. “Ukraine, America and the entire free world.”