EPABilled as the definitive church in Ukraine.
A chance for President Volodymyr Zelensky to present his boldly named “victory strategy” to America’s most powerful politicians, during his visit to the US.
But it is unclear whether Kyiv is close to getting the key in question from its wish list.
And Zelensky has it who opposed the top Republicans, including Donald Trump.
Zelensky he told the New Yorker magazine he believes Trump “doesn’t really know how to stop the war”, while describing his running mate JD Vance as “very strong”.
His comments about Trump and Vance were “a big mistake”, said Mariya Zolkina, a Ukrainian political analyst and researcher at the London School of Economics (LSE).
Separately, Zelensky’s visit to meet with top Democrats at an ammunition factory in Pennsylvania has been labeled election meddling by a top congressional Republican.
The backlash from the visit came as a surprise to Zelensky’s team, added Ms. Zolkina — an operation often known for savvy PR.
Zelensky’s high-profile visit was carefully planned to try to gain critical support for the war in Ukraine from President Joe Biden, who has been in office for a few months.
But that also meant going straight into the highly charged US election campaign – a tough act.
After reports that Trump had decided to suspend Zelensky, the couple finally met on Friday at Trump Tower in New York City.
Standing on the sidelines in front of reporters was, at times, an awkward encounter.
Trump has declared that he has a “very good relationship” with both Zelensky and Russia’s Vladimir Putin – a similarity that hurts Ukrainian ears.
Zelensky gently interjected that he hoped to have a better relationship with him than with Putin – a statement that was laughed off by Trump.
Trump was already busy at rallies that week praising Russia’s military record, while congratulating the current US administration for giving “billions of dollars” to Zelensky who they said “refused to make a deal” to end the conflict.
Zelensky later hailed the talks as “very productive” but there was little sign that he was able to correct Trump’s fundamental approach.
At a rally in Michigan on Friday night, the Republican candidate reiterated his intention to “resolve” the war quickly, a recurring claim that has led many to conclude that he could cut off aid to Kyiv and pressure Ukraine into the region.
Meanwhile, in a thinly veiled attack on Trump, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris said this week that those who would make Ukraine change the world for peace are supporting “surrender proposals”.
Standing by his side was none other than Zelensky as he made a bewildering round of media briefings and press conferences throughout the week – including at the United Nations.
There was talk of some financial support ahead of the meeting with Biden at the White House – talks that were cordial but unclear about their outcome, as Zelensky conveyed his “winning strategy” to end the war to the outgoing president.
Its contents have not yet been published but Ukraine’s request to be able to use Western-made long-range ballistic missiles to strike military targets deep in Russia is widely thought to be one piece.
Zelensky has been asking the West for permission for some time – but so far he has not been given the green light.
Also thought to be on the agenda is a request for stronger security guarantees, including a long-awaited invitation to join the Nato military alliance.
While the coalition made encouraging noises about Ukraine’s future membership prospects, it made clear that would not happen while the country is at war.
Moscow soldiers continue to attack eastern Ukraine, despite Kyiv’s surprise in the Kursk region of Russia.
EPAOverall, the goal of “victory” is to strengthen Ukraine’s position on the battlefield and push Putin into diplomatic silence.
But it was another political clash, believes Ms Zolkina of the LSE, with the proposals failing to “raise much enthusiasm”.
“Ukraine has the idea that it should double down on its ambitions,” he said.
Zelensky “holds to the idea of getting an invitation to NATO but the US is not there yet,” he adds.
With the authorization to use long-range missiles, Biden’s critics accused him of being cold-hearted as he tried to help Harris get into the White House.
But Ms Zolkina says major announcements this week were not on the cards – although there is still hope that approval could still come, though more nuclear threats from Putin.
Here in Kyiv, people continue to insist that they won’t consider giving up the world to Russia – often on the basis that a deal would allow Putin to regroup and relaunch a new offensive down the line.
However, Ms. Zolkina believes that the discussion about ending the war could change if there were reasonable security guarantees.
“If Ukraine was promised NATO membership or if Ukraine signed a strong security agreement with a major international player, this discussion about a possible ceasefire and the political opposition would not be as strong as it is now.”
It’s been a week since Zelensky went and gave his “strategy for victory” a hard sell. But the reality is that Washington DC has yet to show much enthusiasm, while events in the Middle East continue to divert attention from Russia’s bloody aggression.
Source link
