Zelensky to present 'victory plan' to Biden, Harris and Trump

WASHINGTON, United States

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to present a "plan for victory" in the country's war with Russia to President Joe Biden during this week's visit to the US.

Zelensky also intends to present the plan to Congress and the two candidates in the US presidential election: Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.

He is expected to ramp up efforts to persuade the US and its allies to allow Ukraine to fire the missiles they supplied deep into Russian territory for the first time in the war.

Zelensky's visit to the US coincides with efforts from the White House to prepare a new $375m (£283m) military aid package for Ukraine.

This autumn would "determine the future of this war," Zelensky wrote in a post on X.

In a statement ahead of the visit, the Ukrainian leader previewed three elements to his plan: further weapons donations, diplomatic efforts to force Russia to agree to peace, and holding Moscow accountable for its full-scale invasion in 2022.

Ukraine has been pleading for months for the US, UK and other Western allies to ease restrictions on the use of long-range missiles so it can strike targets in Russia which Kyiv says are used to launch attacks.

Earlier in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Western countries that he would consider long-range missile strikes to be "direct participation" by the Nato military alliance in the war.

When asked by reporters on Sunday whether he had made a decision on allowing Ukraine to use US-made long-range weapons, Biden answered: "No."

Trump has previously criticised US support for Ukraine and spoken highly of Putin, but said he would "probably" meet Zelensky.

The ex-president previously flagged his own plan to end the war "within 24 hours" if re-elected in November, but has not given details.

According to Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who he met in March, Trump has vowed to "not give a penny in the Ukraine-Russia war. That is why the war will end".

Zelensky's statement also voiced gratitude for the support from Ukraine's allies to date, singling out the US in particular as its "leading supporter".

The US has been the largest foreign donor to Ukraine, and to date has provided $56bn for its defence.

After arriving in the US on Sunday, Zelensky stopped in Biden's birth town of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to visit a munitions factory involved in supplying the Ukrainian war effort.

After Washington, Zelensky is expected to head to New York and the United Nations for a planned meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday and a speech at the General Assembly on Wednesday.