He is due to lay out his "plan for victory" to President Joe Biden for the first time this week as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, Republican nominee former President Donald Trump and lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
The three-pronged blueprint centers on ramping up weapons and ammunition contributions to Ukraine's war effort, increased international diplomatic pressure to nudge Russia toward peace and holding Moscow accountable for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022, Zelensky said ahead of the trip.
Zelensky is also expected to lobby hard to get Washington and allies to lift a prohibition on using Western-supplied long-range missiles to strike military targets inside Russian territory -- a call doggedly resisted over fears it could be seen as the West actively entering the conflict, triggering escalation.
"This fall will determine the future of this war. Together with our partners, we can strengthen our positions as needed for our victory -- a shared victory for a truly just peace," Zelensky said in a video post on X from onboard his aircraft Sunday ahead of touching down in the United States.
He said he would also hold meetings with leaders of the Global South, G7, Europe, and heads of international organizations.
Those talks were expected to take place in New York on the sidelines of a U.N. Security Council meeting on Tuesday and the U.N. General Assembly which he is scheduled to address on Wednesday.
Speaking Sunday on a visit to a munitions plant in Scranton, Pa., producing 155mm artillery shells for Ukraine, Zelensky said the plan took into consideration the contingency of the November U.S. presidential election and an imminent new occupant in the White House.
"The plan includes not only what is needed from Biden today. There will be a new president in the United States and we need to talk to each of the candidates," he said.
However, it was clear Zelensky had work ahead of him to change the mind of the man making U.S. policy through Jan. 19 on the question of using U.S.-supplied long-range weapons on Russian territory after Biden reiterated Sunday that he had yet to decide.
The trip came as the Biden administration worked to rush through a new $375 million military aid package before the fiscal year-end Sept. 30 to include artillery munitions, rockets and air defense missiles as well as a medium-range missile for the country's F-16 fighter jets donated by NATO members.
However, the deal is in limbo amid Congressional wrangling over a stop-gap government funding bill to avoid a shutdown Oct. 1.
Kharkiv officials say overnight Russian attack damaged 18 buildings
Washington DC (UPI) Sep 22, 2024 -
At least 18 high-rise buildings in Kharkiv, Ukraine, were damaged by Russian military attacks overnight, the mayor reported Sunday.
Eight people were hospitalized as a result of the attack, according to city officials. One house was seriously damaged. Victims of the attacks are being housed in hostels, and volunteers are providing aid for those who need it, the city council said.
"The communal services and volunteers are actively working to deal with the consequences of the shelling. We are checking the communications," City Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a post on Telegram. "Water and electricity supply has already been restored to some houses. We will restore everything. Unfortunately, many people turned to doctors for help. Two victims are in a very serious condition."
Terekhpov said the intensity of the shelling of the city has increased recently, with attacks occuring both during the day and at night. He urged residents not to ignore air raid siren warnings of impending attacks.
It's the latest in a series of Russian attacks on residential buildings in Ukraine. One person was killed and others injured in a Russian aerial bombing of a residential building in Kharkiv earlier this month, officials said. Some of the injured were children.
As the multi-year battle between Russia and Ukraine drags on, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday thanked workers in a Scranton, Penn., ammunition factory producing munitions for his country's fight against Russian ground forces.
Zelensky is also scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly in New York and then travel to Washington on Thursday to meet with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Zelensky has adamantly asked for additional funding from the United States and other allies in the West, including Britain
Zelensky has been asking the United States for permission to use longer-range missile systems that would reach deeper inside the Russian interior, potentially reaching the capital.
But the Defense Department has said that Ukraine can already strike Moscow with Ukrainian-produced drones, and officials have been cautious about the implications of a Ukrainian strike on the Russian capital with a U.S.-made missile.
Ukraine has fired as many as 8,000 155-millimeter shells per day during its war with Russia, which has depleted U.S.-manufactured stockpiles. That prompted concern that the U.S. military could not sustain its defense if another major conventional war broke out.
That prompted the United States to increase production to more than 40,000 155-millimeter rounds a month, with plans to reach 100,000.
The ammunition is just one of the many forms of assistance the United States and allies are sending to Ukraine. The United states has been the largest donor, providing $56 billion of the $106 billion that NATO and other allies have invested.
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