President Joe Biden welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Sept. 26 for a bilateral meeting on the path forward in the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war.
“We stand with Ukraine now and in the future,” Biden said in a brief appearance alongside Zelenskyy before their meeting.
Biden announced a new round of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine on Sept. 26, ahead of the meeting.
The military package, worth about $8 billion, includes transfers of Patriot missiles and other air-defense systems, along with the first U.S. transfers of a precision glide bomb called the Joint Standoff Weapon.
The glide bombs provide Ukraine with a new weapon with a maximum range of about 81 miles.
The new military aid package also includes support for training around 18 more Ukrainian pilots to operate U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets.
The aid package also funds efforts to expand Ukraine’s native military industry and maintain its existing arsenal.
On Sept. 25, Biden hosted an event in support of Ukraine on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, where leaders from more than 30 countries adopted a Joint Declaration of Support for the Recovery and Reconstruction of Ukraine.
The joint declaration states Russia must bear the cost of post-war reconstruction in Ukraine.
The signatories declared they would continue to freeze any Russian assets under their control until the fighting in Ukraine stops and Russia pays for war damages.
The signatories further declared they would provide continued economic assistance to sustain Ukraine’s wartime macro-financial stability and repair damaged critical infrastructure.
Zelenskyy addressed the U.N. Security Council and General Assembly this week, building anticipation for his victory plan.
In his general assembly speech, he urged U.N. member nations not to push Ukraine to accept a “frozen truce instead of real peace.”
The Ukrainian leader said a final peace must include nuclear safety assurances and measures to stop Russian forces from leveraging control of Ukraine’s energy grid and food supplies.
Rather than prescribing specific peace terms, the proposal lays out principles for how discussions should proceed, including a peace conference where representatives of both Ukraine and Russia would be present.
Zelenskyy asked what the “true interest” of the Chinese–Brazilian proposal was.
“Everyone must understand—you won’t boost your power at Ukraine’s expense,” he said.
The Ukrainian leader has indicated his victory plan will rely heavily on quick action from his Western backers, the United States in particular.
Zelenskyy’s victory plan may also require Western sign-off for Ukrainian forces to conduct long-range strikes inside Russia, permission Western nations have been reluctant to grant thus far.
At a press briefing ahead of the bilateral meeting, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said she expected Biden and Zelenskyy would discuss long-range strikes on Russia, but said, “I wouldn’t expect any new announcements” following the meeting.
Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said on Sept. 24 that the victory plan entails Ukraine’s entry into NATO.
The request has been a longstanding aspiration of the Kyiv government, a key point of contention for Moscow, and a point of skepticism from Ukraine’s Western supporters.
The White House spokeswoman said she had no announcements to share regarding U.S. support for Ukrainian entry into NATO.
Zelenskyy has indicated he will also share his victory plan with former President Donald Trump.
Trump, as the Republican presidential nominee, has been less adamant about continuing to arm and fund Ukraine and more focused on advancing a deal to end the fighting.
In a Sept. 12 podcast appearance, Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), said Trump’s peace plan could entail the creation of a demilitarized zone within Ukraine, potentially along the current “line of demarcation” in the ongoing conflict.
Zelenskyy, in response, told The New Yorker that he opposed the idea of Ukraine ceding any territory to end the war.
At a campaign rally in North Carolina on Sept. 25, Trump criticized Biden and Zelenskyy’s approach to the war, stating, “We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refused to make a deal—Zelenskyy.”
Ahead of her own meeting with Zelenskyy, Harris said that “nothing about the end of this war can be decided without Ukraine.”
“There are some in my country who would instead force Ukraine to give up large parts of its sovereign territory, who would demand that Ukraine accept neutrality, and would require Ukraine to forego security relationships with other nations,” she said.
“These proposals are the same as those of Putin. And let us be clear, they are not proposals for peace. Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable.”
Republicans have criticized Zelenskyy for appearing to politicize his ongoing visit to the United States this week, particularly after he appeared alongside Democrat Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and other Democrats while touring an ammunition factory in Pennsylvania.
“The facility was in a politically contested battleground state, was led by a top political surrogate for Kamala Harris, and failed to include a single Republican because—on purpose—no Republicans were invited,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wrote in a Sept. 25 letter to Zelenskyy.
“The tour was clearly a partisan campaign event designed to help Democrats and is clearly election interference.”
The Republican House speaker demanded Zelenskyy remove Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, for allowing his visit to take on a political appearance.
Depending on the outcome of the 2024 U.S. elections, Zelenskyy’s rapport with Republicans could decide whether his victory plan gets U.S. support.
In his final address before the U.N. General Assembly as president on Sept. 24, Biden defended his strategy of arming Ukraine and cast the war as a failure for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The good news is Putin’s war has failed,” he told world leaders. “He set out to destroy Ukraine, but Ukraine is still free. He set out to weaken NATO, but NATO is bigger, stronger, and more united than ever before.”
