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Videos highlight Ukrainian President Zelenskyy inside Scranton Ammunition plant
By Borys Krawczeniuk | WVIA News
Published September 23, 2024 at 5:47 PM EDT
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy listened attentively and asked questions or commented during a Sunday tour of the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, videos of the visit show. Richard Hansen, the plant commander’s representative, led the tour and explained the plant’s processes to Zelelenskyy. The president saw everything from the scalding hot, orange molten steel as a shell is formed to the cooled-down shiny, silver shell to the drab green final product. The rumble of manufacturing machines drowned out Hansen’s and Zelenskyy’s voices on the videos. The plant has produced tens of thousands of 155mm shells for Ukraine's effort to fend off Russia's 2-year-old invasion. The Army provided another video. The media was barred from the tour.
Zelenskyy, Gov. Josh Shapiro, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti either autographed or wrote messages on five finished shells at the end of the tour. “Glory to Ukraine,” Zelenskyy wrote on one shell. “Thanks for support,” he wrote on another. “Freedom Come From These Hands of Workers in Scranton,” Shapiro wrote on one. At one point, Zelenskyy walked up to a gray wall and touched a children’s painting, appearing visibly moved. That and other paintings contained references to Ukraine.
A meeting among Zelenskyy, Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Casey, U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, Shapiro and other officials preceded the tour. During that meeting, Shapiro signed an agreement with the Zaporizhzhia Regional State (Military) Administration meant to support the southeast Ukrainian province’s efforts to rebuild after the war with Russia ends. The agreement also is meant to provide Pennsylvania businesses to help in the reconstruction and “share best practices across critical industries, including energy, agriculture, digital technologies, workforce development and defense,” a news release from the governor’s office says.
Shapiro told Zelenskyy he was honored to host him in the city where Casey lives and President Joe Biden comes from. “We are blessed to have so many Ukrainians living here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the second largest number in the entire United States of America, and we feel a special kinship to them and to all of you in your work to defend Ukraine,” Shapiro said. “We stand with you, and we look forward to the conversation here today, we're honored that you're spending time with us. Thank you, Mr. President.” Zelenskyy thanked Shapiro. “And we are very happy to start our visit to America from the city, from your city, from Scranton, from Pennsylvania,” Zelenskyy said. “And for us, it's very important to say thank you to ordinary people.”
As the tour wound down, a group of employees, some of them smiling and holding cell phones to record the visit, applauded as Zelenskyy was introduced. “Thank you so much,” Zelenskyy said. “This applause is not to me, really. Everything is to you and for your work. Thank you so much. I'm very honored to be here with my team.” Zelenskyy noted the 400 people who work at the plant. “Four hundred people saved millions of Ukrainians because of the result of your work,” he said. “I'm very thankful, just from ordinary Ukrainians to you. And what can I say? Thank you so much. You helped us to survive against Putin invasion, and thanks to your families and God bless everything will be very good with your families and with you. God bless America and Slava Ukrainii.”
https://www.wvia.org/news/local/2024-09-23/videos-highlight-ukrainian-president-zelenskyy-inside-scranton-army-ammunition-plant