Ukraine's plea for long-range missiles faces U.S. skepticism
The Wall Street Journal writes that the United States remains unmoved by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's "victory plan." "I'm unimpressed; there's not much new there," said one senior official.
As "The Wall Street Journal" reports, the Biden administration is concerned that Zelensky's "victory plan" lacks a comprehensive strategy. According to them, it is nothing more than a repackaged request for more weapons and lifting restrictions on long-range missiles.
President Zelensky flew to the United States not only to attend the UN General Assembly but also to present the plan, goals, and specific steps meant to secure Ukraine's victory. He will discuss it with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday. "The White House confirmed Biden will meet Zelensky Sept. 26 while Harris will meet with him separately," announced White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Senior U.S. and European officials familiar with the general outline believe that the plan does not lead directly to Ukraine's victory, especially as Russia, slowly but steadily, continues to advance on the battlefield. "I'm unimpressed; there's not much new there," said one official.
Officials from the U.S. and Europe said that Zelensky put forward a maximalist proposal behind the scenes at the UN summit, hoping that the U.S. and its allies would give Kyiv everything it wants.
However, the current state of the Ukrainian framework has discouraged Biden's key collaborators. The WSJ reports that they had hoped to hear something concrete that the Biden administration could support four months before the end of the term.
Long-range missiles as the central point of the plan
Zelensky has long sought approval to use long-range missiles. However, Biden does not want to agree, as U.S. administration officials argue that such weapons will not be a game-changer and could potentially encourage Vladimir Putin to escalate the war.
Journalists asked Antony Blinken and Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, whether Ukraine had received the green light to strike military targets deep in Russia. "I can tell you that as we go forward, we will do exactly what we have already done, which is we will adjust, we’ll adapt as necessary, including with regard to the means that are at Ukraine’s disposal to effectively defend against the Russian aggression," the U.S. Secretary of State replied.
Sikorski pointed out that Russia—by attacking civilian targets, residential buildings, hospitals, or power plants—commits war crimes. "Missiles that hit civilian targets are shot from bombers that start from airfields in Russia," he added.
"The victim of aggression has the right to defend itself, has the right to combat all means of air strikes that hit against it. I’m of the opinion that Ukraine has the right to use Western weapons to prevent war crimes," said Sikorski.
