SCRANTON, Pa, Sept 23, (AP): Under tight security, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday visited a Pennsylvania ammunition factory to thank the workers who are producing one of the most critically needed munitions for his country's fight to fend off Russian ground forces. Rep. Matt Cartwright, a Democrat who was among those who met with Zelenskyy at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, said the president had a simple message: "Thank you. And we need more.”

The Scranton plant is one of the few facilities in the country to manufacture 155 mm artillery shells and has increased production over the past year. Ukraine has already received more than 3 million of them from the US Zelenskyy said he expressed his gratitude to all the employees at the plant. "It is in places like this where you can truly feel that the democratic world can prevail,” he wrote on X. "Thanks to people like these - in Ukraine, in America, and in all partner countries - who work tirelessly to ensure that life is protected.”

Zelenskyy's visit kicked off a busy week in the United States. He will speak at the UN General Assembly annual gathering in New York on Tuesday and Wednesday and then travel to Washington for talks on Thursday with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, as he seeks to shore up support for Ukraine. The area around the ammunition plant had been sealed off since Sunday morning, with municipal garbage trucks positioned across several roadblocks and a very heavy presence of city, regional and state police, including troopers on horseback.

As Zelenskyy’s large motorcade made its way to the ammunition plant in the afternoon, a small contingent of supporters waving Ukrainian flags assembled nearby to show their appreciation for his visit. "It’s unfortunate that we need a plant like this, but it’s here, and it’s here to protect the world," said Vera Kowal Krewson, a first-generation Ukrainian American who was among those who greeted Zelenskyy's motorcade. "And I strongly feel that way.” She said many of her friends’ parents have worked in the ammunition plant, and she called Zelenskyy’s visit "a wonderful thing.”