Photos this week: December 15-December 22

The week in 34 photos

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses Congress at the US Capitol in Washington as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris hold up a Ukrainian national flag signed by troops from the besieged area of Bakhmut on Wednesday, December 21.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Updated 10:03 PM EST, Thu December 22, 2022

Ten months after his country was invaded by Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky flew to Washington, DC, for a historic wartime visit.

Zelensky's visit to Washington marked his first trip outside Ukraine since the invasion. "I hope my words of respect and gratitude resonate in each American heart," Zelensky said during a joint meeting of Congress. But alongside his gratitude was a plea for more help, emphasizing that his armed forces are outnumbered and outgunned by the Russian military even as they fight on.

Earlier Wednesday, the Ukrainian leader visited the White House, where he met with President Joe Biden and held a joint news conference, during which the duo displayed a united front on their approach to the war.

Biden officially announced the United States will send an additional $1.8 billion package of assistance to Ukraine, which will include the Patriot missile defense system that Zelensky had been requesting for months.

Here are some of the stories that made headlines over the past week, as well as some photos that caught our eye.

<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/15/football/gallery/lionel-messi/" target="_blank">Lionel Messi</a> lifts the World Cup trophy as he and the Argentina men's football team celebrate their World Cup victory over France in Lusail, Qatar, on Sunday, December 18. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/20/football/gallery/world-cup-2022/" target="_blank">See the 2022 World Cup's best images.</a>

Lionel Messi lifts the World Cup trophy as he and the Argentina men's football team celebrate their World Cup victory over France in Lusail, Qatar, on Sunday, December 18. See the 2022 World Cup's best images.

Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Venezuelan immigrant Yaneisi Martinez weeps while embracing her three children after Texas National Guard troops and state police blocked a popular border crossing area on December 20 in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The family is among thousands of migrants who arrived in El Paso before the scheduled end of Title 42, a policy that officials have been relying on to kick many migrants out of the United States.

John Moore/Getty Images

A Ukrainian firefighter and serviceman inspect a house damaged by a Russian drone attack in <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-12-19-22/h_dd71d5660e208d0b220566e42c94f2c3" target="_blank">Stari Bezradychi, Ukraine</a>, on Monday, December 19.

A Ukrainian firefighter and serviceman inspect a house damaged by a Russian drone attack in Stari Bezradychi, Ukraine, on Monday, December 19.

Felipe Dana/AP

Two young koalas, Yunga, left, and Erlinga, right, sit together in the fork of a branch at the Duisburg Zoo in Duisburg, Germany, on Monday, December 19.

Christoph Reichwein/picture alliance/Getty Images

NASA's InSight Mars lander captures one final image of the red planet. "My power's really low, so this may be the last image I can send," <a href="https://twitter.com/nasainsight/status/1604955574659035136" target="_blank" target="_blank">the lander tweeted </a>on Monday, December 19. The space agency <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/21/world/nasa-insight-mars-mission-end-scn/index.html" target="_blank">announced the official end</a> of the mission on December 21 after the lander failed to respond to two messages from mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

NASA's InSight Mars lander captures one final image of the red planet. "My power's really low, so this may be the last image I can send," the lander tweeted on Monday, December 19. The space agency announced the official end of the mission on December 21 after the lander failed to respond to two messages from mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Miss New York Taryn Delanie Smith, center left, and Miss Wisconsin Grace Stanke, center right, react after Stanke was crowned Miss America 2023 during the Miss America competition in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Thursday, December 15. Smith was runner-up in the competition.

Steven Senne/AP

The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol holds its<a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/jan-6-committee-public-meeting/index.html" target="_blank"> last public meeting</a> in Washington, DC, on Monday, December 19. The committee concluded that former <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/19/politics/what-is-in-jan-6-committee-report-summary/index.html" target="_blank">President Donald Trump was ultimately responsible</a> for the insurrection, laying out for the public and the Justice Department a trove of evidence for why he should be <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/jan-6-committee-public-meeting/h_ae614c52ad8ef8eced85b7b4a17de066" target="_blank">prosecuted for multiple crimes</a>. "Evidence has led to an overriding and straight-forward conclusion: the central cause of January 6th was one man, former President Donald Trump, who many others followed," the committee wrote in a summary of its final report. "None of the events of January 6th would have happened without him."

The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol holds its last public meeting in Washington, DC, on Monday, December 19. The committee concluded that former President Donald Trump was ultimately responsible for the insurrection, laying out for the public and the Justice Department a trove of evidence for why he should be prosecuted for multiple crimes. "Evidence has led to an overriding and straight-forward conclusion: the central cause of January 6th was one man, former President Donald Trump, who many others followed," the committee wrote in a summary of its final report. "None of the events of January 6th would have happened without him."

Jemal Countess/Redux

Snow covers homes in Seattle on Tuesday, December 20. Bitterly <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/22/weather/winter-storm-temperature-drops/index.html" target="_blank">cold temperatures</a> and<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/22/weather/gallery/winter-storm-december-2022/index.html" target="_blank"> wintry weather</a> are spreading across the continental United States affecting holiday travel everywhere.

Snow covers homes in Seattle on Tuesday, December 20. Bitterly cold temperatures and wintry weather are spreading across the continental United States affecting holiday travel everywhere.

Daniel Kim/The Seattle Times/AP

Mac Jones of the New England Patriots reacts after a Patriots turnover led to the Las Vegas Raiders scoring a game-winning touchdown as the clock expired in Las Vegas on Sunday, December 18. The Raiders won 30-24.

Chris Unger/Getty Images

An honor guard soldier stands at attention on Wednesday, December 21, during a memorial service for those killed in the 1989 anti-communist uprising at University Square in Bucharest, Romania.

Andreea Alexandru/AP

Ukrainian soldiers fire a Pion artillery system at Russian positions near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on Friday, December 16. During the past 10 months of Russia's war on the country, the city has risen to infamy for being regularly referred to as the most contested and kinetic part of the 1,300 km (800 miles) front line in Ukraine.

Libkos/AP

Supporters of Argentina's national football team fill the streets of Buenos Aires on Sunday, December 18, to celebrate their World Cup victory over France.

Rodrigo Abd/AP

People enjoy a front-row spot at the Cusica Fest music festival in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sunday, December 18.

Matias Delacroix/AP

President Joe Biden holds a Cross of Combat Merit <a href="https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-12-21-22/h_5daaaace8ac5173e9d501b3b86978113" target="_blank">gifted to him</a> by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday, December 21. Zelensky explained that a captain in the Ukrainian military fighting in the Donbas region asked that his award be given to Biden. "He's very brave," Zelensky said of the soldier. "And he said, give it to very brave president, and I want to give you, that is a cross for military merit."

President Joe Biden holds a Cross of Combat Merit gifted to him by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday, December 21. Zelensky explained that a captain in the Ukrainian military fighting in the Donbas region asked that his award be given to Biden. "He's very brave," Zelensky said of the soldier. "And he said, give it to very brave president, and I want to give you, that is a cross for military merit."

Patrick Semansky/AP

Migrants who crossed the Rio Grande approach the Texas National Guard to inquire when they will be allowed to be processed by Customs and Border Protection to seek asylum in El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday, December 20.

Omar Ornelas/El Paso Times/USA Today

Athletes perform on a beach in Mombasa, Kenya, ahead of the Mombasa Open Tong-IL Moo-Doo International Martial Arts Championship on Thursday, December 15.

Patrick Meinhardt/AFP/Getty Images

An aerial image shows a border wall constructed of shipping containers on federal land in the Coronado National Forest near Hereford, Arizona, on Tuesday, December 20. In August, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey -- a Republican and critic of the Biden administration's border policies -- issued an executive order telling the state Department of Emergency and Military Affairs to use shipping containers to fill in gaps along the border, and did so without official permits or authorization, CNN previously reported. On Thursday, the state agreed to remove the shipping containers as part of an ongoing lawsuit, according to a Wednesday court filing.

Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

Auburn's Jaylin Williams falls on Southern California's Kobe Johnson during their NCAA basketball game on Sunday, December 18, in Los Angeles.

Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP

Congressional staff wheel in former President Donald Trump's tax returns on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, December 20. The Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee said Tuesday it would release the former president's tax returns within days. The committee also released a report Tuesday that detailed six years' worth of the former president's tax returns, including his claims of massive annual losses that significantly reduced his tax burden.

Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times/Redux

A woman cries in front of a building that was destroyed by a Russian attack in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, on Friday, December 16.

Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

President Biden and President Zelensky walk down the Colonnade of the White House as they make their way to the Oval Office on Wednesday, December 21.

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Penguins are seen in the early morning of Wednesday, December 21, on Possession Island off the coast of Queensland, Australia.

Patrick Hertzog/AFP/Getty Images

Kylian Mbappe of France sits after losing to Argentina in the World Cup on Sunday, December 18.

Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images

Gregor Deschwanden of Switzerland soars through the air during the men's ski jumping world cup competition in Engelberg, Switzerland, on Saturday, December 17.

Philipp Schmidli/Keystone/AP

Carolina Hurricanes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov watches a deflected puck fly through the air during a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Sunday, December 18.

Karl B DeBlaker/AP

Korey Miller looks for valuables and family heirlooms in her grandmother's destroyed home in Gretna, Louisiana, on Thursday, December 15. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/14/us/nationwide-massive-storm-tornadoes-wednesday/index.html" target="_blank">Strong storms and tornadoes ripped through the state</a> leaving at least 3 people dead.

Korey Miller looks for valuables and family heirlooms in her grandmother's destroyed home in Gretna, Louisiana, on Thursday, December 15. Strong storms and tornadoes ripped through the state leaving at least 3 people dead.

Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate/AP

Protesters march in Washington during a rally and vigil held in solidarity with ongoing protests in Iran and to honor protesters allegedly killed by the Iranian government on Saturday, December 17.

Nathan Howard/AP

Tyler Bass of the Buffalo Bills kicks a game-winning field goal against the Miami Dolphins in Orchard Park, New York, on Saturday, December 17. The Bills surged past the Dolphins in the 4th quarter to overcome an eight-point deficit, winning 32-29.

Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images

Disgraced founder of crypto exchange FTX Sam Bankman-Fried, second from right, leaves court in New York on Thursday, December 22. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/22/business/ftx-sam-bankman-fried/index.html" target="_blank">A judge released him on a $250 million bond</a> in his first appearance on American soil since his arrest last week in the Bahamas.

Disgraced founder of crypto exchange FTX Sam Bankman-Fried, second from right, leaves court in New York on Thursday, December 22. A judge released him on a $250 million bond in his first appearance on American soil since his arrest last week in the Bahamas.

Stephen Yang/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Migrants line up along the edge of the Rio Grande after <a href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2022/12/us/el-paso-crossings-migrant-stories-reaj-cnnphotos/" target="_blank">crossing into the United States</a> from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on Thursday, December 15.

Migrants line up along the edge of the Rio Grande after crossing into the United States from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on Thursday, December 15.

Adriana Zehbrauskas for CNN

Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals is sacked by Lavonte David of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida, on Sunday, December 18.

Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images

People wait to check in at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday, December 19.

Jae C. Hong/AP

Snow falls at the Old Capitol Building in Iowa City, Iowa, on Wednesday, December 21.

Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen/AP