Nancy Pelosi visits Ukraine, meets President Zelensky

As Russia continues to pound different cities in Ukraine, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made an unannounced visit to Kyiv, media reports said.  

Pelosi, who is a California Democrat, is leading a Congressional delegation and met Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky.

She was also awarded with the 'Order of Princess Olga' by Zelensky for a “significant personal contribution" to strengthening Ukrainian-American cooperation and "supporting sovereign, independent and democratic Ukraine”, media reports said.    

In a statement released on Sunday, Pelosi said, "Our delegation travelled to Kyiv to send an unmistakable and resounding message to the entire world: America stands firmly with Ukraine.”  

The visit is crucial as Pelosi is the highest-ranking US leader to visit Ukraine since the invasion began.   

Democratic Representatives, Barbara Lee (California), Jason Crow (Colorado), Gregory Meeks (New York), Jim McGovern (Massachusetts), Adam Schiff (California) and Bill Keating (Massachusetts) are a part of the Congressional delegation. "You all are welcome," Zelenskyy told the delegation.  

"We believe that we are visiting you to say thank you for your fight for freedom. We are on a frontier of freedom and your fight is a fight for everyone. Our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done," Pelosi told Ukraine's president.  

The US leaders will later head towards Poland for talks with President Andrzej Duda and other senior officials. "We look forward to thanking our Polish allies for their dedication and humanitarian efforts," Pelosi said.