Washington:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday to present his wartime “victory plan”, after the US president announced an $8 billion increase in military aid for Kiev’s fight against Russia.
But Zelenskiy’s visit was clouded by a fierce row with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who underlined how the US election in November could improve the support Kiev receives from its biggest backer.
“Russia will not prevail. Ukraine will prevail, and we will continue to stand with you every step of the way,” Biden said as he received Zelensky in the Oval Office after thanking him for presenting the so-called victory plan.
Dressed in his signature military-style outfit, Zelensky responded that “we deeply appreciate that Ukraine and America have stood side by side.”
Zelensky is trying to shore up support for his war effort, while Biden is trying to secure aid for Ukraine ahead of the election vote that pits Biden’s Vice President Kamala Harris against insurgent Trump.
The Democrat promised nearly $8 billion in military aid in his announcement Thursday, including $5.5 billion that must be approved before it expires Monday at the end of the U.S. budget year.
Biden said in a statement that the “wave of security assistance to Ukraine” would “help Ukraine win this war.”
Biden also announced that Washington would supply Ukraine with the long-range munition Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) and convened a summit of allies in Germany in October.
The White House, however, downplayed Ukraine’s hopes that Zelensky’s visit would achieve its long-held goal of obtaining permission to fire Western long-range missiles into Russian territory.
“I do not expect any new announcements on this specific action or a decision to come from this meeting,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
Harris was scheduled to meet Zelensky separately at the White House on Thursday.
Zelensky also visited the US Congress – where his government said he also presented his victory plan – and delivered a defiant speech at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.
– ‘Greatest seller on earth’ –
But Zelensky’s visit has sparked new nuclear saber-rattling from Moscow, which has repeatedly warned the West against giving Ukraine long-range weapons.
President Vladimir Putin announced plans on Wednesday to expand Moscow’s rules on the use of its nuclear weapons in the event of a “massive” air strike.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the nuclear threat “totally irresponsible”, while EU foreign policy spokesman Peter Stano said Putin was making a “gamble with his nuclear arsenal”.
Kiev is facing an increasingly difficult battlefield situation two and a half years after the Russian invasion, with Russian forces continuing to push into eastern Ukraine.
But the US presidential election means Washington’s support is now at stake – and Zelensky is apparently at odds with Trump and the Republicans.
Trump was also expected to meet Zelensky during his visit to the US, but their talks now appear to be on ice.
Trump accused Zelensky on the eve of the visit of refusing to make a deal with Moscow and again questioned why the United States gave billions of dollars to Kiev.
During an election rally on Wednesday, the Republican called the Ukrainian president “probably the biggest salesman on the planet.”
Republicans were furious after Zelensky visited a weapons factory in Biden’s hometown of Pennsylvania earlier this week, with House Speaker Mike Johnson calling for the Ukrainian ambassador to be fired.
Zelensky also sparked anger in Republican ranks when he told The New Yorker magazine this week that Trump and his running mate JD Vance failed to understand the complexities of the war.
Trump has repeated many of Putin’s statements that previous US policies are responsible for the Russian invasion, and has been critical of Zelensky for years.
The United States provided approximately $175 billion in both military and economic aid to Ukraine during the war, despite frequent opposition from Republicans.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)