Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be the keynote speaker at a top defense industry conference in Austin, Texas, later this month.
Zelensky’s keynote address at the National Defense Industrial Association’s (NDIA) annual Future Force Capabilities Conference and Exhibition will occur over video on September 21. Zelensky is expected to make his pitch to U.S. defense companies for more weapons to aid in his country’s war with Russia, Reuters reported.
Zelensky will be joined by Ukraine’s minister of defense, Oleksii Reznikov, who will also address the defense industry leaders.
NDIA’s board of directors includes individuals who work for defense industry titans such as Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman.
Although America is in a recession and faced with record-high inflation, President Joe Biden’s Department of Defense announced an additional $675 million weapons package for Ukraine on Thursday. Since Russia invaded the country in February, the United States has provided more than $14 billion in aid to Ukraine.
Zelensky’s address at NDIA’s annual conference would be the latest public appearance while leading his war-torn country.
Most recently, Zelensky virtually rang the New York Stock Exchange opening bell Tuesday, where he encouraged American corporations to invest money into his country.
Zelensky and his wife also posed for Vogue magazine in July, in which he diminished the impact of rising costs and gas prices.
“I will be very honest and maybe not very diplomatic: Gas is nothing … just try to imagine what I’m talking about happening to your home, to your country,” Zelensky told Vogue. “Would you still be thinking about gas prices or electricity prices?”
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter.
