(AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will present his “victory plan” to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Thursday, but a blazing row with Donald Trump underscored how the US election could soon upend support for Kyiv. Zelensky’s trip to the White House is set to feature the announcement of a surge in US support, although it is unclear whether he will get the green light he wants for Ukraine to fire US-made long-range missiles into Russia.
Republican presidential contender Trump, who faces Democratic Vice President Harris in November’s close election, had also been due to meet Zelensky but their talks now appear to be on ice. Trump accused Zelensky on the eve of the visit of refusing to strike a deal with Moscow and once again questioned why the United States was giving billions of dollars to Kyiv. Biden will host Zelensky in the Oval Office at 1:45 pm local time (1745 GMT), the White House said. The Ukrainian leader and Harris will deliver remarks at 3:05 pm before their meeting in the vice president’s office.
Zelensky was also due to visit the US Congress. During a meeting at the United Nations on Wednesday, Biden “informed president Zelensky that he has directed a surge in US security assistance to Ukraine, which will be announced publicly” on Thursday, the White House said. Zelensky gave a defiant address at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday in a bid to rally international support amid an increasingly difficult situation on the battlefield. The Ukrainian has for several weeks touted the so-called “victory plan” he will present to Biden, but has given no details of his proposals to end the war, which is now in its third year.
The United States has provided around $175 billion in both military and economic assistance to Ukraine during the war, despite frequent opposition from Republicans. The Biden administration announced another $375 million on Wednesday, including munitions for HIMARS precision rocket launchers, cluster munitions, and light tactical vehicles. But Zelensky has been pushing the United States hard to give the green light for Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russian territory — permission Biden has so far refused.
Russia has strongly warned against such a step. President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday unveiled new rules meaning Moscow would consider using nuclear weapons in response to a massive air attack. Kyiv has relied on the United States as its main military backer, but the knife-edge US election on November 5 means that support may now hang in the balance. Trump has echoed many of Putin’s talking points about previous US policy being to blame for the Russian invasion and has been critical of Zelensky for years.
At an election rally on Wednesday, the Republican called the Ukrainian president “probably the greatest salesman on Earth.” “We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal, Zelensky,” he said. Republicans were livid after Zelensky told The New Yorker magazine this week that Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance did not understand the war’s complexity. Trump has claimed that he could arrange a peace deal within 24 hours if elected, but Kyiv fears it would involve ceding swathes of territory seized by Russia.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has declined a meeting with Zelensky in Congress, called on the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States to quit on Wednesday after Zelensky visited an arms factory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania with the state’s Democratic governor. Johnson accused the ambassador of having deliberately excluded Republicans.
– Danny KEMP
© 2024 AFP
