’Volodymyr Zelenskyy has come to the U.S. with a mission: to sell his vision for a Ukrainian victory despite the growing odds against Kyiv in its war with Russia.’, The Guardian said in its article, published on the occasion of the Ukrainian President’s official visit to the U.S. from 22 to 27 September. Zelenskyy is pitching his ‘victory plan’ on adverse terrain | Ukraine | The Guardian
If Zelenskyy believed that in America, the Land of Dreams, he could easily sell his vision of how the war in Ukraine should continue – let’s call it his own Ukrainian dream – he was quite wrong, or, he simply underestimated not only the centuries-old experience of the Americans with difficult foreign leaders to handle but also their maneuvering capabilities.
From the information available, it is a fact that Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S. was marked by unfulfilled dreams. Moreover, he also made an enormous diplomatic blunder: his visit to meet top democrats at an ammunition factory in the swing state of Pennsylvania was labelled as election interference by a senior congressional Republican.
Contrary to the preliminary expectations of Ukraine’s President, during the visit, he had to face the bitter fact that the Biden administration would not fulfil his main request regarding long-range missiles as it was not convinced it would change the trajectory of the war. In addition, US politicians believe it could give a cause Putin to further escalate the situation since with long-range US-supplied missiles, Ukraine could easily hit targets deep inside Russian territory. Facing GOP attacks, Zelenskyy looks to sell White House on victory – POLITICO
Given that the request for the transfer of long-range missiles is the centrepiece of the so-called Victory Plan, the presentation of which was one of the main objectives of Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S., the Ukrainian President’s official trip to Washington can be declared a political failure.
Without a $375 mn military aid package, mainly involving ammunition, an additional support worth over $5.5 bn announced by Biden and a further $2.4 bn financial aid package provisioned for Ukraine by the U.S. Department of Defence, Zelenskyy would have had to return home empty-handed. However, it should be noted that Ukrainian President received these aid packages just because the U.S. did not want to send a signal to Moscow of diminishing support for Ukraine.
However, from Zelenskyy’s position, failure is still failure. It was uneasy to hide this fact with statements such as the U.S. had ’directed a surge in U.S. security assistance to Ukraine, which will help Ukraine win’, said by the White House following a meeting between Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Facing GOP attacks, Zelenskyy looks to sell White House on victory – POLITICO With regard to the results of the visit, on behalf of the Ukrainian President’s Office it was claimed that during Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S. the American side showed ’great interest’ in the Victory Plan, despite media reports to the contrary…
What exactly is Zelenskyy’s Victory Plan about and how has it been accepted?
The plan includes requests for significant support in three areas: military aid, economic support, and political assurances that Ukraine’s future is part of the West. According to Zelenskyy, the plan is intended to strengthen Ukraine’s position in upcoming diplomatic talks with Russia.
Victory Plan was presented not only to President Joe Biden and VP Kamala Harris, but also to prominent lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including the top Democrats and Republicans on the Armed Services Committees and the foreign policy committees. In addition, former President Donald J. Trump was also briefed about the plan at Trump Tower in New York City.
’The Plan for Victory has been presented to America, and we have explained every single point. Now we will work at the level of our teams to fill every step and our every decision. Strong positions for Ukraine will lead to peace sooner. All the key issues for Ukraine are on our partners’ table, and everything is being considered.’ – Zelenskyy said in his evening video address on 27 September. The Plan for Victory Has Been Presented to America, and We Have Explained Every Single Point – Address by the President — Official website of the President of Ukraine
Taking a closer look at the Victory Plan, it is pretty clear that it has nothing to do with bringing the war to an end, not to mention achieving peace or at least a ceasefire, as it is no more than a ’rebranding’ of existing Ukrainian military demands and a desire to resell them under a different name. Under these circumstances, former President Trump was totally right in calling Zelenskyy ’the greatest salesman in history’ – every time he visits the U.S, he walks away with $60 billion.
In addition to the hardly acceptable concept of ’rebranding’, it is also worth noting that the so-called Victory Plan has also divided Ukraine’s European allies. According to media reports, some Western officials are advising against expecting much from Zelenskyy’s Victory Plan as they do not see it as a conceptual breakthrough. Some foreign leaders say that the plan contains no real surprises, and cannot dramatically change the situation. Some are not far wrong when they call the plan a wish list. Ukraine’s Allies Play Down Hopes for Zelenskiy’s ‘Victory Plan’ Breakthrough – Bloomberg
As far as the reception of Zelenskyy’s Victory Plan in the U.S. is concerned, it also should be noted that top House Republicans are putting pressure on the Biden administration to release an unclassified strategy for the war, required by Congress as part of the April aid package. ’The American people deserve to understand how their hard-earned tax dollars are being spent.’, they argue. Facing GOP attacks, Zelenskyy looks to sell White House on victory – POLITICO
Without wasting a word on the disappointing acceptance of the Victory Plan, in his video address, Ukraine’s President also stated that ’It is important for Ukraine that America has a direct understanding of Ukraine. And it absolutely does.’
Does America really understand Ukraine?
It should be stressed, in the first place, that Ukraine is not the same as President Zelenskyy, therefore, even if the political elite in DC understands Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s motives and goals, it does not mean that Washington understands Ukraine, or the American people understand Ukraine.
The question is, does anyone in the U.S. understand the Ukrainian people and the hopeless situation they are in as a result of the war? Does anyone in the U.S. know what the best interests of the Ukrainian people would be?
As long as neither in the political milieu in Washington nor in the mainstream press is enough attention paid to those key issues that could actually determine the trajectory of the war in Ukraine, such as the various existing peace initiatives, the chaos in the Ukrainian Defence Ministry, the actual situation on the battlefield and Zelenskyy’s fading populartity, it is unrealistic to expect the Americans to tell what is in the best interest of the Ukrainian people: to continue the war or to finally find a path to peace…? While the focus of the news is on presenting Victory Plan of the Ukrainian President capable of defeating Putin, raising such relevant issues will continue to remain in the background.
’With this war, oftentimes, the deeper you look at it the less you understand.’, Zelenskyy said in an interview. The Ukrainian President happened to be absolutely right about that. Volodymyr Zelensky Has a Plan for Ukraine’s Victory | The New Yorker
It is high time to ask the really important questions
On behalf of Ukraine’s Western supporters there is a legitimate request to know how long will the war take, while on part of Ukrainians the same legitimate question sounds like this: what peace might look like? For Americans, the question is, how long will the war in Ukraine be financed by the U.S.?
There are legitimate grounds for this question considering that U.S. military aid contributes to Ukraine’s daily survival but would not solve the country’s key problems: serious trouble mobilizing people and maintaining Ukraine’s positions on the front, not to mention the constant need of rebuilding the destroyed energy infrastructure. As another winter is coming, this latter issue should once again be emphasised, in the interests of the Ukrainian people.
As polls show increasing fatigue for the war in Ukrainian society and an erosion in public trust in Zelenskyy himself, presentation of the so-called Victory Plan by Zelenskyy to the outgoing U.S. President with just months left in office, seems to be a fatal mistake. Volodymyr Zelensky Has a Plan for Ukraine’s Victory | The New Yorker
Ukrainian President has just wanted to utilise the final months of Joe Biden’s presidency, one could argue but as his proposal failed to raise much enthusiasm in the U.S., his entire trip was nothing but a waste of time. Zelenskyy has obviously failed to receive the support it anticipated from Washington, moreover, some allies has already suggested that the time has come for a new round of negotiations with Vladimir Putin.
The results of the U.S. election hold potentially decisive implications for Ukraine, Zelenskyy knows it well. Donald Trump claims it is only him as a US President has the capacity of having a peaceful conversation with Russia which eventually will help Ukraine to end the war. It is important to note that Trump never speaks about Ukraine’s victory, but only wants the war to stop.
Some experts believe that conversation around a future ceasefire could change if genuinely meaningful security guarantees were on the table. However, this must be something else than invitation to NATO, as it is obvious from Western allies’ stance. Without a well-planned roadmap to peace and the involvement of Russia, any efforts to settle the conflict will fail.
In an interview with The New Yorker, Zelenskyy called the Victory Plan a bridge between peace conferences that would help Ukraine force the Russian President to the negotiating table. Volodymyr Zelensky Has a Plan for Ukraine’s Victory | The New Yorker
There is a big hole in this story as no bridges have appeared on the horizon in either Washington or New York… It was just a heavily sweating salesman standing on the podium, apparently having a hard day. The Ukrainian President’s signature military-adjacent style – olive-drab pants, black T-shirt, military boots – may no longer be enough to impress Western donors.
The ’greatest salesman on Earth’ seems to have failed to sell his dream in the U.S. Not only has it been proved that America still has its own dreams, but it has also been demonstrated that Americans only buy the American dream. Zelenskyy should have tried to sell his dream to his own nation first. The question is, whether the Ukrainians still want Zelenskyy’s dreams? In fact, no one has asked them yet.