Zelensky meets with US leaders in Washington to strengthen cooperation

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris stood with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday, warning against any suggestion that Ukraine should end the war by handing territory to Russia.

Zelensky and Democratic presidential candidate Harris met for the seventh time during Harris’ tenure as vice president, when the Ukrainian leader visited the White House and the U.S. Capitol.

Zelensky is expected to meet with former President Donald Trump in New York on Friday morning, and Trump said at a news conference later Thursday that he would be able to “soon” reach an agreement between Ukraine and Russia. protocol”.

“I don’t want to tell you what that’s like,” said Trump, the Republican candidate running against Harris for the Oval Office.

Zelensky’s meeting on Thursday included a separate one-on-one meeting with President Joe Biden to solidify continued support as the United States faces the possibility of a change of power in the wake of the 2024 election.

Harris declared that “our world needs order and stability” and reiterated her commitment to working with NATO allies to defend Ukraine from Russian President Vladimir Putin. A full-scale invasion was launched later in February 2022.

“Without Ukraine, the end of this war cannot be decided,” Harris said in her comments. live streaming On C-SPAN.

“However, Mr. President, I tell you frankly, there are those in our country who would force Ukraine to give up much of its sovereign territory, who would demand that Ukraine accept neutrality, who would demand that Ukraine abandon its security relationships with other countries,” Harris was speaking with Zelensky continued in a brief joint address to the press. “These recommendations are the same as Putin’s recommendations.”

Harris’ comments come a day after Trump Tell Crowds at the North Carolina rally said Biden and Harris were “allowing” the ongoing war by “giving unprecedented amounts of money and ammunition to Zelensky.”

United Nations

Zelensky’s visit to Washington comes as the United Nations General Assembly convenes in New York this week and Zelensky once again told world leaders that he want to the “territorial integrity” of his country.

Zelensky and Biden met in the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon to discuss the Ukrainian leader’s “Victory Plan,” which calls for U.S. authorization to launch Western missiles deeper into Russia.

‘Your determination will be crucial for us to win,’ Zelensky Tell Biden in front of reporters.

“I see two key parts,” Biden said in a brief joint address to the press. “First, now we have to strengthen Ukraine’s position on the battlefield.

Biden announces $7.9 billion for Congress appropriate Ukraine and ordered all remaining funds to be distributed before the last day of his term (January 20, 2025).

“This will strengthen Ukraine’s position in future negotiations,” Biden said.

Ukraine is expected to request more aid from the United States in the coming months.

Pentagon data shows that the United States has provided more than $59.3 billion in security assistance since Biden took office, the vast majority of which was provided in the aftermath of the Russian invasion. Total U.S. foreign aid to Ukraine since 2022 total About $175 billion.

Biden, Harris and Zelensky did not answer reporters’ loud questions after their respective meetings.

Zelensky heads to Capitol Hill again

Zelensky began a session on Capitol Hill on Thursday, meeting with members of the House and Senate in the absence of U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson.

The meetings took place less than 24 hours after Johnson wrote his report. letter Zelensky demanded that he fire Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States for organizing the Ukrainian president’s trip with Democrats to Pennsylvania, a key swing state in the 2024 presidential election.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro leads Zelensky while traveling Sunday at an ammunition plant in Scranton. They were joined by Sen. Bob Casey and Rep. Matt Cartwright, both Pennsylvania Democrats up for re-election.

“The agency is located in a politically competitive battleground state, is led by a top political surrogate for Kamala Harris, and has not invited any Republicans, as Republicans were intentionally not invited. The tour was clearly a Designed to aid Democratic partisan campaigns and is a clear attempt to interfere with the election,” Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, wrote.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, launched an investigation on Wednesday into “the misuse of government resources that led to Zelensky’s interference in the 2024 presidential election.”

Lawmakers who walked out of the meeting told reporters that Zelensky did not comment on Johnson’s letter but instead spoke about the war effort and Ukraine’s desire to use long-range missiles to target military assets further away from Russia.

“The more damage we can do and the sooner we can do it, the better off we are,” Republican Sen. John Bozeman, a member of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, told reporters.

“It would be to the Russians’ advantage if this thing dragged on forever,” Arkansas’ Bozeman said.

When reporters asked Biden whether Zelensky should be allowed to infiltrate Russia, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet said: “I hope he will.”

Bennett, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, told reporters that he would not repeat “anything that others in the room said,” but said he “did not hear” any concerns about angering nuclear power Russia. revenge.

Rep. Joe Wilson, chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Committee, told reporters that the meeting with Zelensky was “positive” and reiterated his support for a victory in Ukraine.

He attributed Johnson’s absence to possible “scheduling” issues.

Wilson, who also co-chairs the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, said he was “confident that things will work out” regarding Johnson’s rebuke of Zelensky. Wilson then quickly turned to praising Trump for approving the 2017 arms sales to Ukraine.

When U.S. newsrooms pressed Trump refuse to say Whether or not he wanted Ukraine to win the war, Wilson defended the former president.

“I respect President Trump, but again I’m very grateful that Donald Trump tried to avoid this,” the South Carolina Republican said.

Trump is Impeach Approved by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2019 but acquitted by the Senate for threaten Security aid to Ukraine will be withheld unless Zelensky publicly announces an investigation into Biden before the 2020 presidential election.

U.S. Newsroom reporter Jennifer Shute contributed to this report.