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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is preparing to visit Washington on Wednesday, according to three AP sources, in his first known trip outside the country since Russia’s invasion began in February.

Two congressional sources and one person familiar with the matter confirmed plans for the visit. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the highly sensitive nature of the trip. They said Zelensky’s visit, while expected, could still be called off at the last minute due to security concerns.

The visit to Washington is set to include an address to Congress on Capitol Hill and a meeting with President Biden. It comes as lawmakers are preparing to vote on a year-end spending package that includes about $45 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and as the U.S. prepares to send Patriot surface-to-air missiles to help stave off Russia’s invasion.

The latest tranche of U.S. funding would be the biggest American infusion of assistance yet to Ukraine, above even Biden’s $37 billion emergency request, and would ensure that funding flows to the war effort for months to come.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi encouraged lawmakers to be on hand for Wednesday evening’s session.

“We are ending a very special session of the 117th Congress with legislation that makes progress for the American people as well as support for our Democracy,” Pelosi wrote Tuesday in a letter to colleagues. “Please be present for a very special focus on Democracy Wednesday night.”

Zelensky has – almost daily – addressed various parliaments and international organizations by video and he has sent his wife to foreign capitals to drum up assistance.

On Tuesday, he made a daring and dangerous trip to what he called the hottest spot on the 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) front line, the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s contested Donetsk province. In a video released by his office from the Bakhmut visit, Zelensky was handed a Ukrainian flag and alluded to delivering it to U.S. leaders.

“The guys handed over our beautiful Ukrainian flag with their signatures for us to pass on,” Zelensky said in the video. “We are not in an easy situation. The enemy is increasing its army. Our people are braver and need more powerful weapons. We will pass it on from the boys to the Congress, to the president of the United States. We are grateful for their support, but it is not enough. It is a hint – it is not enough.”

The U.S. has committed almost $20 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24, according to figures from the Pentagon. The U.S. is also providing intelligence to Ukrainian forces and helping Ukraine fend off Russian cyberattacks and efforts at sabotage, American and Ukrainian officials have said.

The visit comes at an important moment as the White House braces for greater resistance from a Republican-controlled House that’s signaled it will put more scrutiny on aid for Ukraine in the new Congress. GOP leader Kevin McCarthy has said his party’s lawmakers will not write a “blank check” for Ukraine.

Biden and Zelensky frequently have held phone calls in coordination with the White House announcing new tranches of military assistance for Ukraine. The calls have been mostly warm, with Biden praising Ukraine for remaining steadfast against the Russians and Zelensky thanking the U.S. president for support.

The U.S. is expected to announce on Wednesday that it will provide Ukraine with Patriot missile defense systems and precision bomb kits that will turn dumb bombs into smart bombs guided by GPS coordinates toward their targets, according to U.S. officials.

The inclusion of both weapons systems in the new U.S. military aid package is significant because it will give Ukraine an advanced system to protect its cities from Russian air strikes and will give its air force a new offensive capability.

Since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February, the United States has provided more than $19 billion in military aid to Ukraine.

The transfer of the advanced air defense system is something Ukrainian officials have been demanding since shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February. It can target ballistic and cruise missiles as well as manned and unmanned aircraft with a maximum range of 100 miles, depending on the system possibly given to Ukraine.

But U.S. officials have not been open to that possibility until recently out of concern over how Russia might react to their presence in Ukraine as well as over what might be learned about the missile's technology if a missile or its components were to fall into Russian hands.

The aid package will also include Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) kits that will convert "dumb" bombs into precision guided weapons that use GPS coordinates to strike a target. "Dumb bombs" is the name used to describe gravity bombs without guidance systems that are dropped directly over a target and are notoriously imprecise.

JDAM kits contain equipment that are attached to the front and back of a bomb to guide a bomb to a precise target using GPS coordinates.

Ukraine's air force has been carrying out limited flight operations throughout the 10-month war and presumably the bomb kits will give it a new offensive capability.

Zelensky preparing to visit D.C., address Congress on Wednesday

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