As Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky prepares to present a “victory strategy” to President Joe Biden on Thursday, Kyiv is seeking a decisive show of support from the U.S. leader before his term concludes.
A senior Ukrainian official expressed hopes that Biden would “cement his legacy” in his remaining time in office.
While the specifics of the plan remain confidential, it is expected to include calls for additional military and financial aid, along with long-term security commitments.
Zelensky has described the plan as a “pathway” to ending the conflict, suggesting the war could conclude sooner than anticipated.
He argues that strengthening Ukraine’s position could pressure Russia’s Vladimir Putin into negotiating peace.
“This war won’t be settled with words. Concrete actions are needed,” Zelensky emphasized during his address to the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
With a keen sense of public messaging, Zelensky is also looking to counter critics in the U.S. who question the continued financial support for Ukraine by promoting a vision for eventual peace.
Zelensky is throwing a huge diplomatic effort behind his victory plan.
He is almost camped out at the United Nations. He spoke on Monday at a debate about how the UN should be reformed. He addressed the Security Council on Tuesday. And he is giving a speech to the General Assembly on Wednesday.
In between, he is meeting world leaders and US politicians. He visited an ammunition factory in Scranton, Joe Biden’s hometown in Pennsylvania, one that is making shells for Ukrainian artillery batteries.
And he is explicit that he considers time is short. In one of his many media interviews, Zelensky told the New Yorker that the victory plan had to be agreed – and Ukraine strengthened – in October, November and December.
“This plan is designed, first and foremost, with Biden’s support in mind,” he told the magazine. That support is by no means guaranteed but Zelensky is staking much on securing it.
That is because the situation will change significantly if Donald Trump were to win the election. At a campaign rally on Monday, the former president mocked Zelensky as “the greatest salesman in history” because “every time he comes into this country, he walks away with $60bn”.
Trump restated his position that he would urge Russia and Ukraine to agree a deal to end the war, one that Kyiv fears would force them to accept territorial losses and no guarantee against further Russian aggression.
It is the fear of such a scenario that is pushing the diplomatic drive behind Zelensky’s victory plan this week. Some diplomats are sceptical the plan would succeed in nudging Russia towards a negotiating table. Much depends now on Biden’s response.
Congressional lawmakers, along with Donald Trump and his political rival Kamala Harris, will be presented with the proposed plan.
Trump has repeatedly claimed he could end the war within 24 hours, raising concerns that the Republican nominee might push Kyiv into making unwanted territorial concessions.
With the U.S. elections on the horizon, the timing is critical for Zelensky as Russian forces continue to advance, albeit slowly, in eastern Ukraine.
A key focus of the so-called victory plan will be to “strike Russia hard,” according to military analyst Mykhailo Samus, director of the New Geopolitics Research Network.
Samus suggests that providing Kyiv with the capability to destroy military targets within a 300km range could significantly disrupt the Kremlin’s offensive in the Donbas and hinder Russia’s efforts to counter Ukraine’s incursions into the Kursk region.
