-
In an apparent U-turn late on Thursday, Donald Trump told reporters that he would meet Zelenskyy at Trump Tower in New York on Friday morning. The move comes after Kamala Harris described the Trump campaign’s policy on ending Russia’s war as “proposals of surrender”. “These proposals are the same as those of Putin, and let us be clear, they are not proposals for peace,” she said. “Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable.” Trump rejected Harris’ criticisms and insisted that he only wants to stop the “horror show that’s gone on”. When asked if Ukraine should give up territory, Trump was non-committal, saying: “Let’s get some peace … We need peace. We need to stop the death and destruction.” His running mate, JD Vance, had earlier suggested Russia could retain the Ukrainian land it has occupied and establish a demilitarised zone with a heavily fortified frontline to prevent another Russian invasion.
-
Before announcing the meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump posted on social media a purported message from the Ukrainian president asking to see him. The message, which was not confirmed by Ukrainian officials, said “we have to strive to understand each other.” The decision to publicly disclose what appeared to be private communications was a reminder of the tension that has been brewing between Trump and Zelenskyy.
-
Zelenskyy met Joe Biden at the White House for the formal presentation of the Ukraine president’s high-stakes proposal, which he has said can end the war with Russia with additional American aid. The White House issued a short statement after the meeting, saying that the “two leaders discussed the diplomatic, economic, and military aspects of President Zelenskyy’s plan and tasked their teams to engage in intensive consultations regarding next steps”. Zelenskyy has kept the details of the plan secret, but US officials have said it includes additional American aid to prevent a Ukrainian rout on the battlefield and “provide the [Ukrainian] people with the assurance that their future is part of the west”.
-
Biden announced more than $8bn in military assistance to Kyiv, calling it a “surge in security assistance for Ukraine and a series of additional actions to help Ukraine win this war”. The aid includes the provision of a medium-range “glide bomb” munition fired from fighter jets that would allow Ukrainian forces to strike Russian troops and supply lines at safer distances. The package includes additional Patriot air defense battery and missiles, unmanned aerial systems, and measures to strengthen Ukraine’s defense industrial base, Biden said. The US will also expand training for additional F-16 fighter pilots, with an extra 18 pilots to be trained next year. But Biden was not expected to grant a key Ukrainian request that has been supported by the UK – permission to use arms such as long-range Atacms ballistic missiles to strike targets deeper inside Russia – due to fears of escalating the conflict with Russia.
-
Russian forces repeatedly shelled a settlement west of the Ukrainian-held city of Kherson on Thursday, killing one person and wounding another, the region’s governor said. Vyacheslav Prokudin, governor of Kherson region, still partly held by Russian forces, said on Telegram that the woman died when Russian forces hit the village of Tomyna Balka six times.
Outside Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv, a strike by Russian multiple rocket launchers triggered a fire engulfing at least six homes in the town of Slatyne, local official Vyacheslav Zadorenko said.
Zadorenko said emergency services were tackling the blaze and trying to establish whether any residents were trapped under rubble. Kharkiv, located 30 km (18 miles) from the border, has been a frequent target of Russian attacks. Reuters could not verify the reports independently….
…
With the conflict in its second year with no ending clearly in site…..
And Republicans pointing out that the US taxpayer has sent the country Billions (Like Israeli ?)…..
Congress maybe getting a little restless with the on going situation…..
And the Ukraine President IS sticking mostly with Democrats who have supported him and could have the new Presidency that would be far friendlier than Donald Trump, who is tight with Putin….
When President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine visited Capitol Hill less than two years ago, he was feted with standing-room-only crowds, rollicking ovations and an aid package worth nearly $50 billion to help his country fight off a Russian invasion.
His reception on Thursday was far more muted, as a few dozen lawmakers huddled with him behind closed doors while the speaker of the House snubbed him.
Mr. Zelensky is widely regarded as Ukraine’s most persuasive advocate, gifted in his ability to cut through partisan congressional gridlock with appeals to speed weapons and other supplies to Kyiv. But as the war against Russia drags on, his star power in Washington has noticeably faded, with potentially dire consequences for the future of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine.
Ukraine is working its way through a nearly $61 billion military aid package that Congress approved in the spring and that the Pentagon is trying to get out the door before President Biden leaves office. On Thursday, Mr. Biden announced that the United States would send Ukraine $8 billion worth of weapons, including glide bombs, air defense missiles and an additional Patriot battery…
…
Yet in other circles, Mr. Zelensky’s visit was met with anger over what some Republicans said was a display of favoritism by the Ukrainian government for Democrats and the Biden administration during an election season.
On Wednesday, Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, demanded that Mr. Zelensky recall his ambassador to the United States for organizing a trip to a munitions factory in Scranton, Pa., that has been making 155-millimeter artillery rounds that are a staple of Ukraine’s war machine….
…
“Support for ending Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to be bipartisan, but our relationship is unnecessarily tested and needlessly tarnished when the candidates at the top of the Republican presidential ticket are targeted in the media by officials in your government,” Mr. Johnson wrote.
The episodes frustrated some of Mr. Zelensky’s Republican supporters, who expressed concern that the Ukrainian president had weighed in on American politics….
US Intel community (Hence Biden) IS afraid to let the Ukraine go after more deep Russian targets….
U.S. intelligence agencies believe that Russia is likely to retaliate with greater force against the United States and its coalition partners, possibly with lethal attacks, if they agree to give the Ukrainians permission to employ U.S., British and French-supplied long-range missiles for strikes deep inside Russia, U.S. officials said.
The intelligence assessment, which has not been previously reported, also plays down the effect that the long-range missiles will have on the course of the conflict because the Ukrainians currently have limited numbers of the weapons and it is unclear how many more, if any, the Western allies might provide.
The assessment highlights what intelligence analysts see as the potential risk and uncertain rewards of a high-stakes decision that now rests with President Biden, who met with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine at the White House on Thursday.
The findings may help explain in part why the decision has been so difficult for Mr. Biden to make, and show the internal pressures on him to say no to Mr. Zelensky’s request. U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters and internal deliberations, said it remained unclear what Mr. Biden would decide to do….
Sep 26, 2024 – ISW Press
Germany, France, and the United States announced several immediate and more long-term aid packages for Ukraine on September 25 and 26. US President Joe Biden announced on September 26 that he directed the DoD to allocate all of the remaining security assistance funding to Ukraine (roughly $8 billion) by the end of Biden’s presidential term, including funding from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, and that he authorized $5.5 billion in Presidential Drawdown Authority to fund the drawdown of US equipment for Ukraine and replenish US stockpiles.
Note….
VP Harris IS LEADING in the polls right now…
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.