Zelensky reminds Congress of the importance of supporting resilience

In advance of his trip to Washington this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted the need to strengthen his country’s resilience and defense capabilities. Defense capabilities, including the military aid as well as advanced weapons systems and heavy weaponry that have been provided by the U.S. and others to Ukraine have been key to defeating Russian aggression — and the omnibus bill before Congress to keep the government funded includes an additional $45 billion for Ukraine to support the fight. With this foundation, Ukraine has shown the world that the spirit and will to fight is essential, and in the process has become a global symbol of resilience. Ukraine’s heroic resistance underscores that leadership, courage, motivation, commitment and the willingness to sacrifice make a crucial difference in responding to acute crises and threats. 

The war also shows that bolstering resilience — the capacity to withstand, fight through and quickly recover from disruption caused by military and non-military threats — has become a collective imperative for NATO and the United States. The 2022 U.S. National Defense Strategy (NDS) advances a focus on resilience and collaboration with allies and partners to deter aggression and promote peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area. Moreover, the NDS broadens the concept of NATO collective security commitment to include — on top of conventional deterrence and defense — working alongside allies to build resilience.