Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky huddled with US leaders on Thursday to shore up American support for his country’s fight against Russia as the war faces a partisan reckoning in this year’s presidential election.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, has pledged to continue sending military assistance to Ukraine if she’s elected.
She’ll have her own meeting with Mr Zelensky after the Ukrainian leader sits down with President Joe Biden, who announced billions of dollars more in missiles, drones, ammunition and other supplies.
The weapons include an additional Patriot missile defence battery and a new shipment of glide bombs that can be deployed from Western fighter jets, increasing their strike range.
Mr Biden pledged to ensure that all approved funding is disbursed before he leaves office, and he said he plans to convene a meeting with other world leaders focused on Ukraine’s defence during a visit to Germany next month.
“We stand with Ukraine, now and in the future,” Mr Biden said alongside Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office. “Russia will not prevail. Ukraine will prevail.”
Meanwhile, Mr Zelensky’s tumultuous relationship with former president Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, continued to deteriorate this week.
Instead of meeting with Mr Zelensky, Mr Trump criticised him.
As for US support for Ukraine, Mr Trump complained that “we continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal” to end the war.
His message dovetails with Russian propaganda that claims intransigence by Kyiv — not aggression from Moscow — has prolonged the bloodshed.
It is the most politically treacherous landscape that Mr Zelensky has encountered in Washington since Russia invaded nearly three years ago.
Ukrainian officials are anxious to maintain good relations with whoever becomes the next president of the United States, which is its biggest and most important provider of arms, money and other support.
But the effort risks slipping into the political blender of the presidential campaign, polarizing the discussion around a war that used to be a bipartisan cause celebre in Washington.
Mr Zelensky is expected to present Mr Biden with a plan to push the war toward an endgame that would involve a negotiated settlement with Russia.
He’s trying to secure leverage before Mr Biden leaves office — including acquiescence to fire long-range Western weapons deeper into Russia — as a hedge against the possibility that American support erodes after the election.
On Thursday, Mr Zelensky found some bipartisan support as he visited Capitol Hill, where he was greeted by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said Mr Zelensky asked to use long-range weapons, such as British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles or US-made ATACMS, for “maximum benefit to bring (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to the table” and increase Ukraine’s negotiating position.
“If we don’t make that fundamental choice this week, I think the outcome for Ukraine is dire,” Mr Graham said.
Mr Zelensky’s trip to Washington coincides with the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York, where the Ukrainian leader spoke on Wednesday.
Last week, Mr Trump said he would “probably” meet with Mr Zelensky while he was in the US, but a senior campaign official said there was never a meeting on the books.
