Zelensky’s trip to the US: Trump said “Ukraine does not exist,” Biden announced the allocation of an $8 billion aid package to Kyiv

Updated 2 hours ago

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is holding talks with Joe Biden at the White House, before which he met in Congress with representatives from the Republican and Democratic parties. He hopes that American politicians will support his “Victory Plan” in the war against Russia, but during his visit to the United States, the Ukrainian leader faced sharp criticism from the Republican leadership .

Presidential candidate Donald Trump reiterated that Ukraine is unlikely to win, and House Speaker Mike Johnson called for the expulsion of Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States resigned because of Zelensky’s trip to Pennsylvania.

It is part of a $61 billion package approved earlier this year. Among other things, Ukraine will receive Standoff Weapons joint gliding bombs, another battery of the Patriot air defense system and additional missiles for it; The United States will expand the program to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighters.

As the American media wrote, since the spring of this year, when the United States approved a new aid package for Ukraine, a significant part of that money has been unspent due to problems with the supply chain. Meanwhile, the Biden administration had to spend the money by the end of September, when the US fiscal year ends.

Therefore, $5.5 billion from the new package must be distributed by September 30, and Kyiv will receive another $2.4 billion under the Ukrainian Security Assistance Initiative program, which allows the US authorities to purchase weapons from manufacturers rather than transfer them from US military warehouses.

During a meeting with Zelensky at the White House, Biden said the measures would help “strengthen Ukraine’s negotiating position in the future.”

Biden also said that the success of Ukraine requires two elements: continued military support from Western countries and international support to ensure long-term security, including by moving Kyiv more closer to EU and NATO membership.

Later, Zelensky also met with US Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running for the White House from the Democratic Party.

This is Zelensky’s fourth visit to the United States since the start of the war in Ukraine.

He brought with him a document that the Ukrainian administration calls the “Victory Plan” and which Zelensky will present to Biden and Harris during their face-to-face meetings, as well as to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump if they meet in person.

The content of the document has not yet been released; only four points are known: military aid to Ukraine, economic measures, diplomatic pressure on the aggressor and “Russian political coercion.”

At the same time, how writing The Wall Street Journal, several senior officials of the Biden administration have already seen the picture of the Victory Plan and they are dissatisfied with its contents.

White House officials are concerned that the plan lacks a comprehensive strategy, with proposals limited to providing more weapons and lifting restrictions on the use of American missiles against targets in Russia.

“I’m not impressed, there’s not much new,” one person told the WSJ.

The publication’s sources also note that Zelensky’s proposals are unprecedented, and that the sections of the document dealing with diplomacy and politics are much more detailed than requests for weapons.

The day before, US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attacked Zelensky, again sarcastically calling him the biggest businessman on the planet.

His statements came at a time when Zelensky was already on a trip to the United States.

“Ukraine does not exist. This is not Ukraine anymore,” Trump said at a rally in North Carolina. “Houses have been destroyed, cities have disappeared. They are no longer there, and we continue to take millions of dollars to a person who refuses to compromise, Zelensky. Every time he came to our country, he left with $60 billion.”

In the past, Trump has repeatedly made false claims that Ukraine was “destroyed” and that “millions and millions” of people died during the war.

In addition, Zelensky’s personal meetings in Washington did not always lead to the allocation of much aid. Last December, with previously allocated funds wasted and American military supplies cut off for several months, Zelensky left the American capital empty-handed.

In his speech, Trump also recalled the historic success of the Russian army. “Biden says, ‘We won’t quit until we win.’ But what if they win? They do this all the time – they wage wars. As someone told me recently, they beat Hitler ‘ defeat Napoleon. They are at war and it is unpleasant.”

On Thursday, Donald Trump announced that he plans to meet with Zelensky on Friday morning.

Before Zelensky traveled to the United States, it was announced that he will meet with Biden, Harris, and Trump. Meetings were held with Biden and Harris, but there was still no clarity regarding the meeting with Trump.

Final clarity. however, as of Thursday afternoon, not yet: Zelensky and his team have not yet confirmed that the meeting will take place.

When Zelensky visited the United States, another scandal occurred that seriously damaged his relationship with the leadership of the Republican Party.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, strongly demanded that Zelensky immediately recall the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, Oksana Markarova.

According to Johnson, she arranged Zelensky’s visit to the military base in Scranton, Pennsylvania, which, according to the Republican spokesman, interferes with the US election campaign.

“I demand that you immediately fire the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova,” the spokesman wrote in an open letter to the Ukrainian president.

Earlier this week, Zelensky visited a military plant in Scranton, which produces metal casings for 155 mm caliber shells that are badly needed by the Ukrainian army.

Scranton is the hometown of President Joe Biden, and Pennsylvania is one of the key states that will decide the November presidential election.

In Scranton, the President of Ukraine received a warm welcome from the Governor of the state Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey and Congressman Matt Cartwright. All three are Democrats.

Many of the Republicans saw Zelensky’s visit to the capital as part of the election campaign for the Democrats and the election ban. The president of Ukraine himself said that he wants to thank the people who make weapons that are vital to Ukraine.

In his letter, Mike Johnson pointed out that not one Republican from Pennsylvania was invited to meet with Zelensky in Scranton, which, in his opinion, clearly shows the partisan nature of the event.

Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on Trump’s statements and requests to fire the ambassador to the United States.

Former Ukrainian ambassador to the United States Valery Chaly wrote on his Facebook that it would be “absolutely wrong” to fire Marcarova in such a situation. “It would be a weak position to shoot now. You have to protect your agents in difficult situations! In addition, Ms. Markarova works in strict coordination with the Office of the President of Ukraine.”