“This fall will determine the future of this war,” Zelensky wrote in a post on X.
In a statement released ahead of his visit, the Ukrainian president outlined three elements of his plan: additional arms donations, diplomatic efforts to force Russia to agree to peace, and holding Moscow accountable for a full-scale invasion in 2022.
Ukraine has been asking the U.S., Britain and other Western allies for months to ease restrictions on the use of long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia, which Kiev insists are being used in attacks.
In early September, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Western countries that any long-range missile strike would be seen as the NATO military alliance’s “direct participation” in the war.
When asked by reporters on Sunday whether he had made a decision on whether to allow Ukraine to use American-made long-range weapons, Biden said, “No.”
President Trump has previously criticized U.S. support for Ukraine and praised Putin, but said he would “probably” meet with Zelensky.
The former president has previously said he plans to end the war “within 24 hours” if re-elected in November, but has not provided details.
According to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whom he met in March, Trump has pledged “not to give a single penny to the Ukraine-Russia war” so that the war will end.
President Zelensky’s statement thanked Ukraine’s allies for their support to date, specifically naming the United States as its “biggest supporter.”
The United States is Ukraine’s largest foreign donor, providing $56 billion to Ukraine’s defense to date.
After arriving in the United States on Sunday, President Zelensky stopped in Biden’s hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to visit a military factory supplying supplies to Ukraine’s war effort.
Following his visit to Washington, President Zelensky is scheduled to head to New York and the United Nations for a meeting of the UN Security Council scheduled for Tuesday and an address to the General Assembly on Wednesday.
