Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will present what he calls a “victory plan” to President Biden during a visit to the United States this week.
After meeting with Biden, Zelensky said he intended to submit it to Congress and the two candidates in the U.S. election – Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Trump has previously criticized U.S. support for Ukraine and spoke highly of Russian President Vladimir Putin, but said he “may” meet with Zelensky.
The White House is working to prepare a new $375 million military aid package for Ukraine as the Ukrainian president visits the United States and attends the United Nations General Assembly.
“This fall will decide the future of this war,” Zelensky said in a post on X, alongside a nighttime video address he delivered from a plane.
In a statement before the visit, Ukraine’s leader previewed three elements of the victory plan.
He outlined further weapons donations to the military, diplomatic efforts to force peace on Russia, and holding Moscow accountable for a full-scale invasion of Russia in 2022.
For months, Ukraine has been pleading with the United States, Britain and other Western allies to ease restrictions on the use of long-range missiles to be able to strike targets in Russia, which Kyiv says are used in attacks.
Early September, Putin warns Western countries He viewed the long-range missile strikes as a “direct involvement” of the NATO military alliance in the war.
When reporters asked him on Sunday whether he had decided to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-made long-range weapons, President Biden said “no.”
Trump has previously said he would end the war “within 24 hours” if elected in November, but offered no details other than labeling U.S. support for Ukraine a “waste of money.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said, Who saw Trump in March?The former president said that he “will not donate a penny to Ukraine’s war with Russia. That is why the war will end”.
Zelensky’s statement also thanked Ukraine’s allies for their support so far, singling out the United States as its “main supporter.”
The United States has been Ukraine’s largest foreign donor, providing $56bn (£42m) to Ukraine’s defense so far.
“I am grateful to every country and every leader who believes that this war, Russia’s war against Ukraine, is not just about the fate of our Ukrainian people,” he said.
Zelensky is expected to travel to New York and the United Nations after his visit to Washington, where he is expected to attend a Security Council meeting on Tuesday and address the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.
