Ukraine's Zelenskyy tells Congress: 'We are united ... the entire free world'

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., compared Zelenskyy to Winston Churchill during floor remarks on Wednesday.

"Where Winston Churchill stood generations ago, so, too, President Zelenskyy stands not just as a president but also as an ambassador to freedom itself," Schumer said.

Churchill, prime minister of the United Kingdom during World War II, addressed U.S. lawmakers in a speech the day after Christmas in 1941 -- just weeks after the Pearl Harbor attack.

"Sure I am, that this day, now, we are the masters of our fate," Churchill told Congress. "That the task which has been set us is not above our strength. That its pangs and toils are not beyond our endurance. As long as we have faith in our cause, and an unconquerable willpower, salvation will not be denied us."

Schumer said he will "happily join" Congress in welcoming Zelenskyy, and urged Republicans to attend the joint meeting.

"It is a high honor to welcome a foreign head of state to Congress, but it is nearly unheard of to hear from a leader who is fighting for his life fighting for his country's survival and fighting to preserve the very idea of democracy," Schumer said.

At the White House, Biden will have an "in depth strategic discussion" with Zelenskyy today about how to move forward on the battlefield, capabilities and training for Ukraine, sanctions and export controls, and the economic and energy sector, a senior administration official told reporters.

From the initial discussion of a possible visit to its final confirmation, this all came together in one week.

Biden and Zelesnkyy discussed this visit when they spoke over the phone on Dec. 11 and the White House extended a formal invitation on Dec. 14 for the Ukrainian president to visit Washington on Dec. 21. Zelenskyy's office formally accepted the invite on Friday, Dec. 16 and the visit was confirmed on Sunday.

"We wanted to host him for a program here at the White House that would involve an extended sit down with President Biden, a meeting with key members of President Biden's national security team and Cabinet, a opportunity to address the press and then an opportunity to go up to Capitol Hill to do a Joint Session of Congress."

The official stressed that ultimately this was Zelenskyy's decision to make to visit Washington, dismissing a question on whether Russia could take drastic actions with him out of the country, saying they've already been doing that "on a near daily basis."

–ABC News' Justin Gomez

Zelenskyy's trip to Washington comes as Biden will announce a "significant new package" of nearly $2 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, which includes a Patriot missile defense battery that Zelenskyy has been requesting, a senior administration official told ABC News.

"We will train Ukrainian forces on how to operate the Patriot missile battery in a third country. This will take some time, but Ukrainian troops will take that training back to their country to operate this battery."

The visit also comes as Congress weighs $45 billion in funding for Ukraine. When asked how much of this visit is also about Biden sending a message to the new GOP-controlled House on the need for US to keep the aid for Ukraine flowing, they said this is not about politics.

"This isn't about sending a message to a particular political party, this is about sending a message to Putin and sending a message to the world that America will be there for Ukraine for as long as it takes."

–ABC News' Justin Gomez

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a letter Tuesday formally inviting Zelenskyy to address lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

"It is with immense respect and admiration for your extraordinary leadership that I extend on behalf of bipartisan Congressional leadership an invitation to address a Joint Meeting of Congress on Wednesday, December 21, 2022," Pelosi wrote.

Pelosi said Zelenskyy's "courageous, patriotic, indefatigable leadership has rallied not only your people, but the world, to join the frontlines of the fight for freedom."

"The fight for Ukraine is the fight for democracy itself," the letter read. "We look forward to hearing your inspiring message of unity, resilience and determination."

Pelosi and a small group of Democratic lawmakers met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv in May to reiterate support for Ukraine.