A visit would be fraught with security concerns – meaning plans could likely change at short notice.
In a letter on Tuesday, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged members of Congress to be in attendance on Wednesday night.
“Please be present for a very special focus on democracy,” she wrote, without giving further details.
Mr Zelensky regularly hosts foreign leaders in the capital, Kyiv, and has visited troops around Ukraine. He made an unannounced visit to the front-line city of Bakhmut on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian president has also spoken frequently to world leaders over the telephone and by video call – often from his office in Kyiv.
But an unannounced visit to a foreign country would mark a first since the war began, and also signal the importance of Ukraine’s relationship with the US which has played a leading role in providing military support.
President Zelensky has appealed for more funding, and has said the monthly cost of defence for Ukraine was about $5bn (£4.1bn).
Most recently, US media have reported that President Joe Biden’s administration is considering supplying Ukraine with Patriot missiles that would enable the country to protect its vital infrastructure against Russian attacks.
Russia has been targeting Ukraine’s energy sector, plunging millions into darkness in winter temperatures several degrees below freezing.
On Tuesday, President Zelensky made an unannounced visit to the front-line city of Bakhmut, where Ukrainian and Russian forces have fought a fierce, months-long battle.
He met troops and handed out awards to soldiers, the presidency said.
The visit was a significant show of defiance – and a demonstration of support for Ukrainian forces engaged in some of the fiercest battles in recent weeks.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, the US military estimates that at least 100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured, along with some 40,000 civilian deaths.
The UN has recorded 7.8 million people as refugees from Ukraine across Europe, including Russia. However, the figure does not include those who have been forced to flee their homes but remain in Ukraine.
Soldiers gave Mr Zelensky a Ukrainian flag with their names signed on it and asked him to give it to President Biden and the US Congress, in a moment that was captured on camera.
Mr Zelensky’s office has not officially commented on any imminent trip to the US.
On the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded medals inside the Kremlin to figures involved in the Russian invasion.
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 Joe Biden. It comes as lawmakers are set 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 the country 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 President Joe Biden’s $37 billion emergency request, and 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 assitance against the Russian invasion. The visit comes a day after he made a daring and dangerous trip to what he called the hottest spot on the 1300-km (808-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, and 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.”
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