Zelensky Heads to the US: Three Major Issues to Watch

US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Donald Trump will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for bilateral meetings next week, officials from the administrations in Washington and Kyiv announced on Thursday. 

The trip will mark the fifth time that Zelensky has traveled to the US to meet with political leadership since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.

The bilateral meetings will take place alongside the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, which will see several state leaders gather in New York and DC next week.

“The leaders will discuss the state of the war between Russia and Ukraine, including Ukraine’s strategic planning and US support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression,” US Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

“The President and Vice President will emphasize their unshakeable commitment to stand with Ukraine until it prevails in this war,” she added.

Kyiv has said that the president plans to give face-time to the current occupants of the White House, including the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris, as well as the Republican presidential candidate, Trump. 

Watch for movement on three major issues key to US-UA relations. 

Support for a new “Plan for Victory”

The Ukrainian president is expected to announce his much-anticipated peace plan, which his administration has referenced in several public statements and high-level meetings in recent months.

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“Zelensky will meet with US President Joe Biden to present the Plan for Victory. The President of Ukraine expects to discuss the details of this Plan, as well as the United States' support for Ukraine in its fight for freedom,” the Office of the President of Ukraine said in a statement on Thursday.

Ukrainian leadership has so far shared scant information about the details of the new peace plan. 

Zelensky said that Kyiv would not support the “freezing of the war or any other manipulations that would simply postpone Russian aggression to another stage” during his nightly video address on Wednesday. “The most important thing is the determination to implement it.”

“It can be said that our victory plan is fully prepared. All the points, all key focus areas and all necessary detailed additions of the plan have been defined," the president added.

When asked about what Kyiv planned to do if the US failed to support his peace plan during a press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday, Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine would continue to defend itself no matter the decision of allies. 

“I was asked the question, what will happen if President Biden does not support your peace plan, do you have a ‘Plan B?’ I'll be honest, we're already in ‘Plan B,’” he said. “We live and fight in it. We never had a ‘Plan A,’ because ‘Plan A’ was to prevent a full-scale invasion, to strengthen Ukraine with weapons, and to impose sanctions against the Russian Federation.”

Previous peace proposals promoted by Zelensky called for the withdrawal of all Russian soldiers from occupied territory, reinstating the country’s borders to those defined after the fall of the Soviet Union, and holding Russia to account for war crimes committed since 2014.

The terms of the peace plan were discussed at a summit, organized for allies by Ukraine in Switzerland in June, but little progress was seen as being made after the talks. Russian representatives did not attend the gathering but have reportedly been invited to the next set of talks expected later this year.

Russia has said that the country will not negotiate an end to the war until Ukrainian troops leave the Kursk region, where Kyiv staged a surprise incursion capturing hundreds of square kilometers of Russian territory this summer. 

Permission to use long-range missiles

The one-on-one talks come at a crucial time for Ukraine, whose leadership has been sparring with international allies for months over gaining permission to use weapons supplied by NATO partners to cripple Russia’s military capabilities by hitting targets deeper inside Russia.

Until now, the US and other key allies have barred the country from using long-range weapons from allies, like US-made ATACMS and British-made Storm Shadows, for military attacks far from the Russian border.

But several European allies have already said they would be open to Ukraine using long-range weapons to defend their territory, including Jens Stoltenberg, the outgoing head of NATO.

“I welcome these developments and these decisions but it's for individual allies to make the final decisions,” Stoltenberg told British radio station LBC on Monday. “Allies have different policies on this,” he added.

Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met in Washington on Sept. 13 to discuss the use of long-range weapons, but no decision was announced.

“This was a really important invitation from the president to have this level of discussion about those critical issues,’' Starmer told reporters after the White House meeting, as reported by the Associated Press.

“Ukraine has a right to self-defense, and we’ve stood united,” he added.

A day before the meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin repeated a threat that any such move by international partners could lead to World War III, saying, “[It] would mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries, are at war with Russia.”

Since launching Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine almost three years ago, Putin has continuously warned that crossing such “red lines” could lead to a broader war – without ever acting on the threats.

Although no formal decision has been announced by allies, US leadership has hinted that they are open to the option.

“We’re working that out now,” he told reporters after a question about opening up the use of long-range weapons into Russia earlier this month.

Access to billions in military aid

The Biden administration made a request to Congress earlier this month to extend the deadline limiting the president’s legal power to quickly send billions in aid and support to Ukraine.

The extension of the president’s drawdown authority (PDA) would make almost $6 billion in military equipment available to Ukraine throughout 2025, instead of being cut-off at the current deadline of Sept. 30.

“We have $5.9 billion left in Ukraine Presidential Drawdown Authority; all but $100 million of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year,” Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told The Hill last week.

“The Department will continue to provide drawdown packages in the near future and is working with Congress to seek an extension of PDA authorities beyond the end of the fiscal year,” he said.

Military support is usually issued in tranches worth hundreds of millions of dollars in an effort to protect American weapons stocks and avoid a supply chain backlog.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $250 million in military assistance for Ukraine in the most recent aid package under the PDA announced Sept. 6, which included air defense missiles and support, rocket systems, anti-tank weapons, armored vehicles, and other arms.