{UAH} ZELENSKY STEPS INTO THE US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Zelensky steps into the US presidential election

The Ukrainian president met with Kamala Harris on Thursday. The democratic candidate reaffirmed her support for him. Zelensky is also due to meet Donald Trump on Friday.

By Piotr Smolar (Washington (United States) correspondent)

Published on September 27, 2024, at 12:37 pm (Paris)

   

US vice president Kamala Harris and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, Washington, September 26, 2024. JOSE LUIS MAGANA / AP

Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House on Thursday, September 26, to outline his "victory plan" to President Joe Biden. The key moment, however, was his joint speech with Vice President Kamala Harris, which broke from custom and signalled Zelensky's involvement in the US election campaign.

The Democratic candidate was thus able, in a solemn setting, to reaffirm the political and military support for Ukraine initiated by Biden at the start of the Russian offensive in February 2022. She was also able to highlight her contrast with Donald Trump. "The US cannot and should not isolate ourselves from the rest of the world," said Harris. "Isolation is not insulation."

According to the vice president, support for Ukraine is not a matter of "charity," but of US "strategic interest." Without quoting Trump's running mate, Senator JD Vance, Harris noted that "some" in her country "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 continued, "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."

Message to European allies

This rare interlude of international affairs in the presidential campaign was also intended as a message to European allies, reassuring them of continued efforts despite growing fatigue. Zelensky reiterated his gratitude for American military support, which aims to strengthen the Ukrainian position in the event of negotiations. "We must end this war," said the Ukrainian president. "We need a just peace." According to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, Zelensky outlined to Biden the "broad contours of his victory plan," though the term "broad" seemed to convey some underlying US dissatisfaction.

In a New Yorker interview published on September 22, Zelensky called the idea that Biden might reject his plan a "horrible thought." He added: "It would mean that Biden doesn't want to end the war in any way that denies Russia a victory. And we would end up with a very long war – an impossible, exhausting situation that would kill a tremendous number of people." This public pressure is reportedly irritating Biden's team, as they seek clearer proposals for potential negotiations while also managing disagreements within the West over the security guarantees Kyiv would receive.

In the New Yorker article, the Ukrainian president explained that his plan contained "specific steps to strengthen Ukraine during October, November and December," in other words, until the new American president takes office in January 2025. The Ukrainian president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, pointed out that Kyiv's plan includes a formal invitation to join NATO, which the Biden administration is refusing for the time being. On Thursday, Kirby said that Ukraine's NATO membership could proceed "once they have worked through reforms that they have to make and once they have been able to put the war in the rearview mirror." In other words, the timetable has not yet been set.

$8 billion in aid

Similarly, there has been no public acknowledgment of any shift in the US stance on Ukrainian strikes deep within Russian territory. The Biden administration has given priority to arms announcements. It has decided to use the remaining Congressional funds for military aid to Ukraine as quickly as possible so that these funds are not lost. The US is therefore releasing nearly $8 billion (€7.15 billion) in aid, enabling the Pentagon to immediately tap into its stockpiles. This includes anti-aircraft munitions for Patriot batteries, UAVs, Joint Standoff Weapon-type glide bombs, and an additional Patriot battery for Ukraine's defense.

Zelensky's trip to Scranton, Pennsylvania, on September 22, to visit a weapons factory and greet its employees, caused a political stir among Republicans. In a radical and symbolic move, House Speaker Mike Johnson penned a letter to the Ukrainian president to order the recall of his ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, accused of interfering in the current campaign. She had invited two elected Democrats, Matt Cartwright and Bob Casey, to accompany Zelensky on the visit.

Zelensky also described Trump's running mate, Senator Vance, as "too radical" for proposing a peace deal that would involve Ukraine relinquishing significant territory. Meanwhile, Trump recently dubbed the Ukrainian president "the greatest salesman on earth" claiming that "every time Zelensky comes to the United States he walks away with $100 billion." On Friday morning, the two men will meet at Trump Tower in New York, giving Trump an opportunity for the Republican candidate to respond to Harris.

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