U.S. President Joe Biden asked Congress for $33 billion to support Ukraine, a dramatic escalation of U.S. funding, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded with lawmakers to give the request a swift approval.

The funding request includes over $20 billion for weapons, ammunition and other military assistance, as well as $8.5 billion in direct economic assistance to the Ukrainian government and $3 billion in humanitarian aid.

"I am thankful to the American people and personally to President Biden for it. I hope that Congress will quickly approve this request for help to our state," Zelenskyy said in a late night video address.

Biden's proposal would also let U.S. officials seize more Russian oligarchs' assets, give the cash from those seizures to Ukraine, and further criminalize sanctions dodging, the White House said.