Pelosi makes surprise in-person visit to Ukraine's president in Kyiv

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US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi has met with Ukraine’s president during a visit to the country’s embattled capital, Kyiv.

Pelosi, second in line to the presidency after the vice president, is the highest-ranking American leader to visit Ukraine since the start of the war, and her visit marks a major show of continuing support for the country’s struggle against Russia.

Footage released early Sunday by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office showed Pelosi in Kyiv with a Congressional delegation including Jason Crow, Jim McGovern and Adam Schiff.

U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, centre, walks before her meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 30, 2022. (AP)

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Nancy Pelosi shake hands during their meeting in Kyiv. (AP)

Zelenskyy greeted the delegation outdoors before they adjourned to a meeting room.

“I am grateful to you for this signal of strong support from the United States, the people, and Congress — bicameral and bipartisan support,” he said.

“This shows that the United States today is a leader in strong support for Ukraine during the war against the aggression of the Russian Federation.”

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, awards the Order of Princess Olga, the third grade, to U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 30, 2022. (AP)

Pelosi told Zelenskyy: “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 added.

The visit was not previously announced.