Amid GOP Criticisms, Zelenskyy Aims to Convince White House of Victory
Republicans are strongly condemning his visit to a munitions factory in Pennsylvania on Sunday.
TroibNews 
Ukraine’s president is facing a critical situation once more.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is striving to secure additional U.S. military assistance and broader permission to deploy Western-supplied weapons as Russia steadily gains ground on the battlefield, Ukraine’s energy infrastructure teeters on the brink of failure, and the prospect of a Donald Trump reelection looms ominously.
These challenges make Zelenskyy’s trip to the U.S. and the U.N. this week all the more pressing—especially for someone whom Trump mocked as “the greatest salesman in history” for successfully persuading the U.S. to offer aid.
While the Biden administration is set to announce new funding for Ukraine, it does not seem inclined to grant one of Zelenskyy’s key demands: lifting restrictions on American-made missiles, which would enable Kyiv to conduct strikes deeper into Russian territory.
President Joe Biden has shown hesitation regarding this request, as the administration is unconvinced it would significantly alter the war's dynamics and fears it may provoke a further escalation from Putin, according to two senior administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private discussions.
This particular demand, which has also generated division among Ukraine’s European allies, is expected to be central to the much-publicized “victory plan” that Zelenskyy will present to Biden during his White House visit on Thursday, according to one official.
Zelenskyy is poised to also discuss the plan with Vice President Kamala Harris in a separate meeting and will outline it to key lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including the leading Democrats and Republicans on the Armed Services and foreign policy committees.
In general, there continues to be solid support in Washington for aiding Ukraine in its battle against Russia, a conflict that has now persisted for 2 ½ years and has resulted in approximately 1 million casualties on both sides.
The Biden administration is preparing significant funding initiatives for Ukraine, including an immediate $375 million drawdown of U.S. military resources, along with a larger $2.4 billion package anticipated to be announced Thursday during Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House.
This larger package, confirmed by two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity regarding forthcoming aid to Ukraine, will focus on U.S. defense contractors to produce new weapons and equipment for Ukraine rather than depleting existing U.S. stockpiles.
The $375 million allocation forms part of an approved $5.9 billion presidential drawdown authority authorized by Congress in April as part of a broader $61 billion aid package for Ukraine.
A preview of the forthcoming funding package was provided Wednesday. Following a meeting between Biden and Zelenskyy at the U.N. General Assembly, the White House announced it had "directed a surge in U.S. security assistance to Ukraine, which will help Ukraine win."
Zelenskyy’s appeals to congressional leaders are likely to increase the pressure on the Biden administration to ease restrictions on Kyiv’s use of donated weapons against Russian targets.
However, Zelenskyy’s supporters in Congress also face the challenge of advocating for this perspective.
“At this point, we need to make the case more strongly to the administration that they need to provide permission for him to strike deeper into Russia. I've been advocating it for weeks and months now. I'm immensely frustrated by the short leash that's been put on Ukraine,” stated Sen. Richard Blumenthal. “And I'm just going to continue pounding and pummeling every official who has anything to do with the decision."
Zelenskyy is also dealing with backlash from his Sunday visit to a munitions factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, which featured two of the state’s vulnerable Democratic lawmakers. House Republicans have initiated an investigation into the potential misuse of taxpayer funds for security measures during the event, while Speaker Mike Johnson has called for the dismissal of Ukrainian ambassador to Washington, Oksana Markarova, due to her involvement in organizing the visit.
The critical timing of Zelenskyy’s trip is heightened by the upcoming election, where a victory for Trump poses challenges for future U.S. support of Ukraine. His arrival comes amid ongoing Russian assaults on Ukraine’s energy grid, threatening to exacerbate the hardships faced by its citizens.
Supporters of Ukraine in Congress hope Zelenskyy’s visit could lead to a breakthrough in loosening engagement rules and provide Kyiv with the freedom to attack Russian targets using the Army Tactical Missile System and other long-range weapons supplied by the West.
"The history here is that President Biden has done all the right things, just a little bit later than I would like,” Blumenthal remarked. “So, there's more than ample reason for hope."
Senate Foreign Relations Chair Ben Cardin, who met with Zelenskyy during the U.N. General Assembly and has urged the White House to allow Ukraine the use of U.S.-donated weapons for deeper strikes into Russia, noted that the issue is still “an active discussion.”
“So our objective is to keep bipartisan support, and do what we need to do to help him, recognizing that it's a struggle, and he's done incredible things,” said Cardin in an interview. “I think he probably wants to get the [White House’s] sign off on the arms he needs, particularly as relates to defense, longer-range missiles.”
Meanwhile, prominent House Republicans are pressuring the Biden administration to release an unclassified strategy for the war, mandated by Congress as part of the April aid package. The administration has provided lawmakers with a classified version, but the six House Republican chairs of national security committees expressed in a joint statement Wednesday that "all of Congress and the American people deserve to understand how their hard-earned tax dollars are being spent."
Biden has pledged to continue supporting Ukraine, stating during his farewell address to the United Nations that he would stand with the beleaguered nation. However, while U.S. officials still express confidence that Ukraine can resist Russia, they have shifted away from asserting that Ukraine can regain all of its territory.
According to the two officials, Biden and his team are aware that time may not favor them. Biden is concerned that U.S. support for Ukraine could diminish if Trump is elected in November, potentially destabilizing the situation and empowering Putin. Nonetheless, the president’s aides have noticed a pattern where high-profile appearances by Zelenskyy correspond with an increase in public support for Ukraine, and they hope this week will see a similar effect.
Zelenskyy has also faced Republican criticism for a Sunday interview with The New Yorker, in which he labeled Trump ally Sen. JD Vance—who has advocated for ending U.S. support for Ukraine and for Kyiv to relinquish territory to Russia—as "too radical."
Sen. Eric Schmitt condemned Zelenskyy's comments, asserting, "It's the height of stupidity and arrogance for Zelenskyy to be weighing in on our elections and campaigning for candidates. As Americans, this is our election, and we don't need foreign leaders on U.S. soil interfering and taking sides."
Amid discussions in the House regarding a stopgap spending measure to prevent a government shutdown, Johnson indicated he could not meet with Zelenskyy.
“I had a very busy schedule this week. If you hadn't noticed,” he told reporters.
When asked if the presence of Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador, would complicate future U.S. support, Johnson hesitated to make a prediction.
“I'm not going to even project what any of this may mean, but I do hope that Zelenskyy does the right thing,” he said, adding, “I think it was wildly inappropriate what happened. And we cannot have foreign nations interfering in our elections.”
Just last weekend, it seemed there would be a meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump, but the former president’s campaign has since clarified that nothing is arranged. At a Monday rally, Trump referred to Zelenskyy as "the greatest salesman in history" while suggesting that the Ukrainian leader "wants Harris to win this election so badly."
Still, some Republican supporters of Ukraine defend its president. Sen. Roger Wicker remarked that he hadn’t seen Zelenskyy’s comments about Vance and dismissed the criticism regarding the factory visit.
“It strikes me as appropriate for Americans to realize how many U.S. jobs are involved in manufacturing ammunition and weaponry for Ukraine,” Wicker expressed to reporters.
In response to Trump’s characterization of Zelenskyy as a salesman, Sen. Dan Sullivan emphasized that Ukraine’s struggle transcends individual personalities. Despite early predictions that Russia would swiftly overtake Ukraine, Ukrainians have consistently shown resilience.
“They stood and fought,” Sullivan stated. “That's the most compelling reason, I think why people support them—not how articulate you may or may not be.”
Sanya Singh for TROIB News
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is striving to secure additional U.S. military assistance and broader permission to deploy Western-supplied weapons as Russia steadily gains ground on the battlefield, Ukraine’s energy infrastructure teeters on the brink of failure, and the prospect of a Donald Trump reelection looms ominously.
These challenges make Zelenskyy’s trip to the U.S. and the U.N. this week all the more pressing—especially for someone whom Trump mocked as “the greatest salesman in history” for successfully persuading the U.S. to offer aid.
While the Biden administration is set to announce new funding for Ukraine, it does not seem inclined to grant one of Zelenskyy’s key demands: lifting restrictions on American-made missiles, which would enable Kyiv to conduct strikes deeper into Russian territory.
President Joe Biden has shown hesitation regarding this request, as the administration is unconvinced it would significantly alter the war's dynamics and fears it may provoke a further escalation from Putin, according to two senior administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private discussions.
This particular demand, which has also generated division among Ukraine’s European allies, is expected to be central to the much-publicized “victory plan” that Zelenskyy will present to Biden during his White House visit on Thursday, according to one official.
Zelenskyy is poised to also discuss the plan with Vice President Kamala Harris in a separate meeting and will outline it to key lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including the leading Democrats and Republicans on the Armed Services and foreign policy committees.
In general, there continues to be solid support in Washington for aiding Ukraine in its battle against Russia, a conflict that has now persisted for 2 ½ years and has resulted in approximately 1 million casualties on both sides.
The Biden administration is preparing significant funding initiatives for Ukraine, including an immediate $375 million drawdown of U.S. military resources, along with a larger $2.4 billion package anticipated to be announced Thursday during Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House.
This larger package, confirmed by two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity regarding forthcoming aid to Ukraine, will focus on U.S. defense contractors to produce new weapons and equipment for Ukraine rather than depleting existing U.S. stockpiles.
The $375 million allocation forms part of an approved $5.9 billion presidential drawdown authority authorized by Congress in April as part of a broader $61 billion aid package for Ukraine.
A preview of the forthcoming funding package was provided Wednesday. Following a meeting between Biden and Zelenskyy at the U.N. General Assembly, the White House announced it had "directed a surge in U.S. security assistance to Ukraine, which will help Ukraine win."
Zelenskyy’s appeals to congressional leaders are likely to increase the pressure on the Biden administration to ease restrictions on Kyiv’s use of donated weapons against Russian targets.
However, Zelenskyy’s supporters in Congress also face the challenge of advocating for this perspective.
“At this point, we need to make the case more strongly to the administration that they need to provide permission for him to strike deeper into Russia. I've been advocating it for weeks and months now. I'm immensely frustrated by the short leash that's been put on Ukraine,” stated Sen. Richard Blumenthal. “And I'm just going to continue pounding and pummeling every official who has anything to do with the decision."
Zelenskyy is also dealing with backlash from his Sunday visit to a munitions factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, which featured two of the state’s vulnerable Democratic lawmakers. House Republicans have initiated an investigation into the potential misuse of taxpayer funds for security measures during the event, while Speaker Mike Johnson has called for the dismissal of Ukrainian ambassador to Washington, Oksana Markarova, due to her involvement in organizing the visit.
The critical timing of Zelenskyy’s trip is heightened by the upcoming election, where a victory for Trump poses challenges for future U.S. support of Ukraine. His arrival comes amid ongoing Russian assaults on Ukraine’s energy grid, threatening to exacerbate the hardships faced by its citizens.
Supporters of Ukraine in Congress hope Zelenskyy’s visit could lead to a breakthrough in loosening engagement rules and provide Kyiv with the freedom to attack Russian targets using the Army Tactical Missile System and other long-range weapons supplied by the West.
"The history here is that President Biden has done all the right things, just a little bit later than I would like,” Blumenthal remarked. “So, there's more than ample reason for hope."
Senate Foreign Relations Chair Ben Cardin, who met with Zelenskyy during the U.N. General Assembly and has urged the White House to allow Ukraine the use of U.S.-donated weapons for deeper strikes into Russia, noted that the issue is still “an active discussion.”
“So our objective is to keep bipartisan support, and do what we need to do to help him, recognizing that it's a struggle, and he's done incredible things,” said Cardin in an interview. “I think he probably wants to get the [White House’s] sign off on the arms he needs, particularly as relates to defense, longer-range missiles.”
Meanwhile, prominent House Republicans are pressuring the Biden administration to release an unclassified strategy for the war, mandated by Congress as part of the April aid package. The administration has provided lawmakers with a classified version, but the six House Republican chairs of national security committees expressed in a joint statement Wednesday that "all of Congress and the American people deserve to understand how their hard-earned tax dollars are being spent."
Biden has pledged to continue supporting Ukraine, stating during his farewell address to the United Nations that he would stand with the beleaguered nation. However, while U.S. officials still express confidence that Ukraine can resist Russia, they have shifted away from asserting that Ukraine can regain all of its territory.
According to the two officials, Biden and his team are aware that time may not favor them. Biden is concerned that U.S. support for Ukraine could diminish if Trump is elected in November, potentially destabilizing the situation and empowering Putin. Nonetheless, the president’s aides have noticed a pattern where high-profile appearances by Zelenskyy correspond with an increase in public support for Ukraine, and they hope this week will see a similar effect.
Zelenskyy has also faced Republican criticism for a Sunday interview with The New Yorker, in which he labeled Trump ally Sen. JD Vance—who has advocated for ending U.S. support for Ukraine and for Kyiv to relinquish territory to Russia—as "too radical."
Sen. Eric Schmitt condemned Zelenskyy's comments, asserting, "It's the height of stupidity and arrogance for Zelenskyy to be weighing in on our elections and campaigning for candidates. As Americans, this is our election, and we don't need foreign leaders on U.S. soil interfering and taking sides."
Amid discussions in the House regarding a stopgap spending measure to prevent a government shutdown, Johnson indicated he could not meet with Zelenskyy.
“I had a very busy schedule this week. If you hadn't noticed,” he told reporters.
When asked if the presence of Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador, would complicate future U.S. support, Johnson hesitated to make a prediction.
“I'm not going to even project what any of this may mean, but I do hope that Zelenskyy does the right thing,” he said, adding, “I think it was wildly inappropriate what happened. And we cannot have foreign nations interfering in our elections.”
Just last weekend, it seemed there would be a meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump, but the former president’s campaign has since clarified that nothing is arranged. At a Monday rally, Trump referred to Zelenskyy as "the greatest salesman in history" while suggesting that the Ukrainian leader "wants Harris to win this election so badly."
Still, some Republican supporters of Ukraine defend its president. Sen. Roger Wicker remarked that he hadn’t seen Zelenskyy’s comments about Vance and dismissed the criticism regarding the factory visit.
“It strikes me as appropriate for Americans to realize how many U.S. jobs are involved in manufacturing ammunition and weaponry for Ukraine,” Wicker expressed to reporters.
In response to Trump’s characterization of Zelenskyy as a salesman, Sen. Dan Sullivan emphasized that Ukraine’s struggle transcends individual personalities. Despite early predictions that Russia would swiftly overtake Ukraine, Ukrainians have consistently shown resilience.
“They stood and fought,” Sullivan stated. “That's the most compelling reason, I think why people support them—not how articulate you may or may not be.”
Sanya Singh for TROIB News
