Sept. 26 (UPI) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Senate leaders Thursday ahead of planned afternoon meetings with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House.
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 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.
Zelensky’s Washington meetings are 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.
Zelensky has said that GOP Vice Presidential candidate, 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.
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.
