Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the United States to present his ‘victory plan’ to end the war with Russia. A series of high-level meetings are lined up during his visit. Zelenskyy’s visit comes at a crucial juncture with the US elections around the corner.
Though the details of the ‘victory plan’ are not released, Zelenskyy appears to be confident that Russia would be forced to end the war ‘diplomatically’ once the West approves the plan. "The Victory Plan envisages quick and concrete steps by our strategic partners - from now until the end of December," Zelenskyy told reporters on Friday.
This fall will determine the future of this war. Together with our partners, we can strengthen our positions as needed for our victory—a shared victory for a truly just peace.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 22, 2024
Right now, the legacy of the current generation of world leaders is being shaped—those in the highest… pic.twitter.com/ji2dZ6cAgR
Zelenskky had underlined that his plan consisted of small number of points and that "all these points depend on Biden's decision, not Putin's."
During my visit to the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, where components for artillery and mortar shells are produced, including 155 mm shells for Ukraine, I emphasized the dedication of the workers, which is truly inspiring—they are helping Ukraine stand strong in our fight for… pic.twitter.com/rs0vLZRlVU
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 23, 2024
He had also added that the plan would act as a bridge to a second Ukraine-led summit on peace that Kyiv wants to hold and invite Russia to later this year.
"There is no alternative to peace," he said.
I met with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Senator Bob Casey, and Congressman Matt Cartwright.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 23, 2024
I am grateful for all their support. We agreed to work even more actively to increase our common strength—the strength of both Ukraine and America.
I also want to extend my… pic.twitter.com/Ad6Wd5XcWO
Zelenskyy hopes to persuade Washington and other allies to provide further and deeper aid to his country in an effort to force Moscow to end the conflict on terms acceptable to Kyiv.
The Ukrainian president will be presenting the 'victory plan' to President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former US President Donald Trump. Both Democratic candidate Harris and Republican Trump are presented with the plan as November elections will be setting a new course for Washington with Biden’s exit.
Trump's victory might reset Washington's policy on Ukraine, which relies heavily on US military and financial support.
During the presidential debate, Trump refused to take any side when asked about his views on ending the Russia-Ukraine war. The former US president said that he would try and end the war before taking office and criticised the inefficiency of Biden and Harris to end the war.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said that if the details of the ‘victory plan’ are officially released, then we would study it and discuss the plan in detail.
"We believe that one should not analyse media reports. If information about it appears in official sources we will of course scrutinise it. There is a lot of contradictory and unreliable information it out there, so we are very cautious
about this," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
During Zelenskyy’s trip, he will also be addressing the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
Putin says peace talks can only begin if Kyiv abandons swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine to Russia and drops its NATO membership plan.
