Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday and laid out his wartime “victory plan” after the US president announced an $8 billion increase in military aid for Kiev’s fight against Russia.
But Zelensky’s visit was overshadowed by a fiery dispute with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, underscoring how November’s US election could affect Kiev’s support from its biggest supporter.
After thanking Zelensky for presenting the so-called victory plan, Biden said while hosting Zelensky in the Oval Office, “Russia will not prevail. Ukraine will prevail, and we will stand with you every step of the way.”
Zelensky, dressed in his trademark military-style attire, responded that “We deeply appreciate that Ukraine and the United States stand together.”
Zelensky is trying to drum up support for his war effort at the same time Biden is trying to cut off aid to Ukraine, ahead of a white-knuckle vote pitting Biden’s Vice President Kamala Harris against firebrand Trump.
The Democrat pledged nearly $8 billion in military aid in his announcement Thursday, including $5.5 billion authorized before the U.S. fiscal year expires at the end of Monday.
Biden said in a statement that “increased security assistance to Ukraine” would “help Ukraine win this war.”
Biden also announced that Washington would provide Ukraine with Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) long-range ammunition and convened a summit of the allies in Germany in October.
However, the White House downplayed Ukraine’s hopes that Zelensky’s visit would achieve its long-term goal of gaining permission to fire long-range Western-made missiles into Russian territory.
“I do not expect this meeting to produce any new announcements on this particular action or decision,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
Harris was scheduled to meet separately with Zelensky at the White House on Thursday.
Zelensky also visited the US Congress – where his government said it had also presented its victory plan – and delivered a defiant speech at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.
– ‘The Greatest Salesman on Earth’ –
But Zelensky’s visit has prompted fresh nuclear saber rattling from Moscow, which has repeatedly warned the West against giving Ukraine long-range weapons.
President Vladimir Putin announced plans on Wednesday to broaden Moscow’s rules on the use of its nuclear weapons in the event of a “large-scale” air attack.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the nuclear threat as “completely irresponsible”, while EU foreign policy spokesman Peter Stano said Putin was “gambling with his nuclear arsenal.”
Two and a half years after Russia’s invasion, Kiev faces a difficult battlefield situation as Russian forces move into eastern Ukraine.
But the US presidential election means Washington’s support now hangs in the balance – and Zelensky is clearly at odds with Trump and the Republicans.
Trump was also scheduled to meet Zelensky during his US visit, but their talks now seem to have soured.
Trump on the eve of the visit accused Zelensky of refusing to make a deal with Moscow and once again raised questions about why the United States is giving billions of dollars to Kiev.
At a campaign rally on Wednesday, the Republican called the Ukrainian president “probably the greatest salesman on earth.”
Republicans were angry after Zelensky visited a weapons factory in Biden’s hometown of Pennsylvania earlier this week, and House Speaker Mike Johnson called for the Ukrainian ambassador to be fired.
Zelensky also sparked fury in Republican ranks when he told The New Yorker magazine this week that Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance did not understand the complexity of the war.
Trump has echoed many of Putin’s points about blaming past U.S. policy for Russian aggression, and has been critical of Zelensky for years.
Despite continued opposition from Republicans, the United States has provided approximately $175 billion in military and economic aid to Ukraine during the war.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
