masterful, and he also combined not only the strategic thinking, but also appealed to our emotions. you know, talking about christmas in a couple of days and how ukrainians are going to celebrate probably mostly by candlelight. not because it s romantic but because they don t have electricity. i think every american can relate to that. and, you know, obviously we want to help to stop these attacks by the russians and to not only provide the defensive systems necessary, but also the humanitarian assistance and the energy assistance that is necessary in ukraine right now. it s interesting also when he invoked christmas. he talked about the faith that we have in ourselves, the faith that the ukrainian people have in their ability to fight and to win this war. you ve previously referred to president zelenskyy as one of the great communicators of our age. like one of our great communicators ronald reagan, he is a former actor.
and students are seen studying by candlelight. there are just a few lights on in that residential building and it s only 6:00 p.m. and over here, a bank, actually still in operation, but in complete darkness. these guys are putting in a new generator. reporter: back in washington today, congress moving to approve $45 billion more in aid to ukraine, though some republicans say they re opposed to sending more assistance. more than half of all house republicans refused to even show up for zelenskyy s historic address. some who did, seen sitting, during standing ovations. let s get right to cecilia vega, joining us now from the white house. we saw those republicans sitting there, not applauding. some top republicans are making it clear that they want limits on this american support for ukraine. reporter: exactly, linsey. t kevin mccarthy said that while he does support ukraine, he does not support writing a blank check. that very well may be a sign of things to come. we are also, lin