Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that he has a plan for victory in Russia's war against his country, and that he intends to present the proposal to U.S. President Joe Biden later this month.
In a speech at the opening of the 20th Annual Yalta European Strategy Meeting in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said wars of aggression, such as the one being waged by Russia against Ukraine, can end positively by either the occupying army being pushed out on the battlefield or through diplomacy, in which the invaded country is freed from occupation and its independence is preserved.
"In both cases, Ukraine needs a strong position," he said. "The United States can help with this. If we, along with our key partner, equally strive for victory." He said he will present the plan to Biden when they meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly later this month.
In his speech, Zelenskyy once again expressed his frustration at not yet receiving permission from allies — specifically the United States and Britain — to use their long-range weapons against targets inside Russia. Both nations have expressed concern about being drawn into a direct confrontation with Russia.
The Ukrainian president referenced conversations he had this week with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy when they visited Kyiv. He said he raised the question with the two diplomats and indicated they were both noncommittal.
Zelenskyy said Russia is using drones made in Iran to attack Ukraine, and this week it was announced Russia is receiving short-range ballistic missiles from Iran to use in the war. He said Iran is supplying similar weaponry to Israel's enemies.
"If the [Western] allies are jointly shooting down missiles and drones in the skies over the Middle East, why is there still no similar decision to jointly shoot down Russian missiles and Iranian 'Shaheds' over Ukraine?" he asked.
He said when the issue is raised with Ukraine's partners, though, "which we do constantly, to be honest, everyone tries to talk around it … they're even afraid to say, 'we are working on it.' They're afraid even of those words. That's the truth."
Ukraine on Biden's agenda
Zelenskyy's comments Friday came on the same day Biden met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House to discuss, among other issues, support for Ukraine. Changing the policy on Ukraine's use of long-range weapons against Russia was reportedly on the agenda.
Earlier this week, Biden signaled he is open to loosening restrictions further, telling a reporter that his administration was "working that out now."
A reporter asked Biden what he thought of Russian President Vladimir Putin's threat of war if Western allies allowed Ukraine to use their long-range weapons against Russia.
"I don't think much about Vladimir Putin," Biden responded.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Ukraine has already been able to strike inside Russia with its own internally produced systems, including drones. Speaking in a meeting of allied defense ministers last week, Austin said he did not believe providing Kyiv with long-range attack capability would be "decisive" in the war.
During a Friday briefing with reporters at the White House, national security spokesman John Kirby said he would not expect any announcements on this topic coming out of Friday's meeting between Starmer and Biden.
"There's been no change to our policy with respect to the long-range strike capability inside Russia, and I'd leave it at that," Kirby said.
Russian official issues warning
Meanwhile, at a U.N. Security Council meeting in New York on Friday, Russia's ambassador to the U.N., Vasily Nebenzya, warned that any change in the U.S. and British restrictions on use of their long-range weapons would "mean that, from that moment, NATO countries are conducting direct war with Russia," and it would escalate the conflict "beyond Ukraine."
At that same Security Council meeting, U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood noted that a U.S. intelligence report released this week indicates that Iran has trained Russian military personnel on the use of Iranian short-range ballistic missiles. He said Iran has since delivered at least one shipment of the missiles to Russia for use in its war with Ukraine.
Wood said in response to Iran's ongoing military support for Russia that the U.S. has imposed new sanctions on individuals and entities in Russia and Iran.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
