Following talks in Washington with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Vice-President Harris said there were some in the U.S. who would give up Ukrainian territory, but that these were proposals for surrender.
Harris said if Russian President Vladimir Putin was allowed to take land with impunity, he could next set his sights on Poland and the Baltics.
Harris reaffirmed the U.S.’s unwavering support for Kyiv as she said it is in Washington’s interests.
She also said Putin could end the war at any time by withdrawing his troops and that there could be no decisions about the conflict’s conclusion without Ukraine.
Zelenskyy met Harris following talks with President Joe Biden.
The meetings with Biden and Harris represent the apex of a high-profile trip to the U.S. during which the Ukrainian leader gave a defiant address to the UN General Assembly.
Original plans had involved the Ukrainian president detailing a much-touted “victory plan” to his U.S. counterpart before presenting it to Harris and former President Donald Trump, who will face off at the polls in November.
The meeting with Trump was called off, however, as the pair traded barbs.
Trump accused Zelenskyy of refusing to negotiate a deal with Putin, and also claimed Ukraine had been “obliterated” by Russia and was beyond reconstruction.
At a campaign rally on Wednesday, Trump described Zelenskyy as “probably the greatest salesman on Earth," due to the amount of aid he has secured for Ukraine’s war effort.
Kyiv has received $175 billion in military and economic assistance from the U.S. since the start of the war and on Thursday Biden announced a further $8 billion.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian leader questioned the Republican candidate’s ability to broker a peace deal, saying: “My feeling is that Trump doesn’t really know how to stop the war, even if he might think he knows how.”
Zelenskyy has said "peace is closer than we think" and that his country’s attacks within Russia are designed to force Putin to the negotiating table. In this context, he has repeatedly pushed for permission to use western weaponry for long-range strikes inside Russia.
The Kremlin has warned that such a move would constitute an act of war by NATO and on Wednesday Putin made his firmest nuclear threat to date, announcing the Kremlin was considering new rules for nuclear engagement.
He said that a non-nuclear power attacking Russian territory with the support of a nuclear power should henceforth be considered a joint attack. His comments have been interpreted as a threat to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine.
Biden and Zelenskyy will meet on October 12 in Germany to discuss the Ukrainian leader’s peace plan, the White House said on Thursday.
Harris reaffirmed the U.S.’s unwavering support for Kyiv as she said it is in Washington’s interests.
She also said Putin could end the war at any time by withdrawing his troops and that there could be no decisions about the conflict’s conclusion without Ukraine.
Zelenskyy met Harris following talks with President Joe Biden.
The meetings with Biden and Harris represent the apex of a high-profile trip to the U.S. during which the Ukrainian leader gave a defiant address to the UN General Assembly.
Original plans had involved the Ukrainian president detailing a much-touted “victory plan” to his U.S. counterpart before presenting it to Harris and former President Donald Trump, who will face off at the polls in November.
Tensions with Trump
The meeting with Trump was called off, however, as the pair traded barbs.
Trump accused Zelenskyy of refusing to negotiate a deal with Putin, and also claimed Ukraine had been “obliterated” by Russia and was beyond reconstruction.
At a campaign rally on Wednesday, Trump described Zelenskyy as “probably the greatest salesman on Earth," due to the amount of aid he has secured for Ukraine’s war effort.
Kyiv has received $175 billion in military and economic assistance from the U.S. since the start of the war and on Thursday Biden announced a further $8 billion.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian leader questioned the Republican candidate’s ability to broker a peace deal, saying: “My feeling is that Trump doesn’t really know how to stop the war, even if he might think he knows how.”
Zelenskyy has said "peace is closer than we think" and that his country’s attacks within Russia are designed to force Putin to the negotiating table. In this context, he has repeatedly pushed for permission to use western weaponry for long-range strikes inside Russia.
Firmest nuclear threat to date
The Kremlin has warned that such a move would constitute an act of war by NATO and on Wednesday Putin made his firmest nuclear threat to date, announcing the Kremlin was considering new rules for nuclear engagement.
He said that a non-nuclear power attacking Russian territory with the support of a nuclear power should henceforth be considered a joint attack. His comments have been interpreted as a threat to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine.
Biden and Zelenskyy will meet on October 12 in Germany to discuss the Ukrainian leader’s peace plan, the White House said on Thursday.
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