1 of 6 | Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Vice President’s ceremonial office in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. Harris offered strong backing for Ukraine’s war against Russian invaders, seeking to draw a distinction with her Republican opponent in November’s election, Donald Trump. Photo by Ting Shen/UPI | License Photo
Sept. 26 (UPI) — Vice President Kamala Harris offered full-throated support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his war against Russian invaders Thursday at the White House as the U.S. election loomed.
Harris, the Democratic Party nominee to succeed her boss, President Joe Biden, offered the embattled Ukrainian leader assurances that a future U.S. administration under her control would fully back his efforts to resist surrendering any of its territory to Moscow — comments seemingly designed to draw a distinction with her opponent, former President Donald Trump.
“In candor, I share with you, Mr. President, there are some in my country who would instead force Ukraine to give up large parts of its sovereign territory, who would demand that Ukraine accept neutrality and would require Ukraine to forego security relationships with other nations,” she said.
“These proposals are the same of those of Putin, and let us be clear, they are not proposals for peace. Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable.”
On the campaign trail, Harris has accused Trump and his Republican supporters of wanting to abandon Kiev. During her debate with the former president on Sept. 10, she said that if Trump were in charge, Russian President Vladimir Putin “would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe, starting with Poland.”
Zelensky has said that Trump’s vice presidential running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, is “too extreme” in his position on the war because Zelensky believes Vance will try to give away occupied Ukrainian territory to the Russians and withhold aid to Ukraine if the Republican ticket is elected.
As the White House meetings were ongoing, Trump announced he would meet with the Ukrainian leader Friday morning at Trump Tower in New York.
Zelensky was invited by Biden to discuss the Ukraine war and U.S. support and to present Ukraine’s war victory plan to U.S. political leadership. He met with Biden earlier in the day, during which U.S. president announced an $8 billion military aid package for Kiev.
Afterwards, he conferred separately with Harris and then appeared with her briefly outside her ceremonial White House office.
“The most important moments in our history have come when we stood up to aggressors like Putin,” Harris said, while repeating her warning that the Russian strongman would eye further expansion onto NATO territory.
Zelensky’s Washington meetings were focused on strengthening U.S. support for Ukraine’s defensive war against the Russian invasion while persuading U.S. leaders to support Ukraine’s plan for victory.
He met with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-K.Y., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and House Foreign Affairs ranking member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., Thursday morning.
On Wednesday additional U.S. military aid of $375 was announced.
Included are High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, patrol boats, M1117 Armored Security Vehicles, Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems and other lethal equipment that is to come from U.S. stockpiles.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. “will deploy this new assistance as quickly as possible.”
There’s approximately $6 billion remaining in the Presidential Drawdown Authority for Ukraine military assistance. But that money will expire Oct. 1 unless Congress and the State Department extend it.
Zelensky is expected to ask that Biden lift the restriction on Ukraine using long-range U.S. weapons to strike back deep inside Russia.
