Zelensky Hails US-Ukraine Missile Plan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky endured a difficult visit to Washington, D.C. this week, buffeted by partisan bickering and left disappointed by the White House's continued refusal to supply long-range MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems—colloquially known as ATACMS—to Kyiv. However, there was an agreement to produce anti-aircraft missiles and a new military aid package.

"It was a very important visit to Washington, with very significant results," Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel at the conclusion of his second trip to the U.S. capital since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Zelensky touted "a long-term agreement—we will work together so that Ukraine produces the necessary weapons together with America."

"This is a new level of our unity," the president wrote. "Co-production in 'defense' with the United States is a historical thing. A new industrial base, new jobs—for both our peoples. Ukraine will be able to produce, in particular, anti-aircraft missiles. We are preparing to create a new defense ecosystem with the United States to produce weapons to further strengthen freedom and protect life together."

"This will have global positive results," Zelensky said, thanking President Joe Biden. "There were also meetings today at the Pentagon—important conversations about defense support."

Zelensky offered no further information on the co-production plans. Newsweek has contacted the White House by email to request comment.

Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder told journalists that Zelensky's meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was "very warm" and "very engaging." Ryder added: "There was also an opportunity to discuss Ukraine's longer-term capability requirements and how to support them in the future in terms of deterring Russian aggression."

Western arms firms have been advancing plans to open production and repair facilities in Ukraine to further assist Kyiv's defense against Russia's invasion. Among them are Britain's BAE Systems and Germany's Rheinmetall.

The demands of full-scale war have prompted a major re-evaluation of readiness among Kyiv's NATO backers, and pushed the U.S., European Union, and others to scale up military production, particularly of artillery ammunition.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is continuing to lead the Western bloc in military support for Kyiv. During Zelensky's visit, the White House announced a new arms package worth up to $325 million that includes air defense, Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, demolition equipment to clear obstacles, and artillery rounds, including cluster munitions.

Zelensky's trip, though, was not as warm as his visit in December 2022. Ukraine-skeptic GOP lawmakers used it to push back on American aid for Kyiv, and Zelensky's request to address a joint-session of Congress was denied by Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Nonetheless, Zelensky praised U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in his Telegram post.

"I thank the Congress—both parties, both houses," he said. "Today, I started my day in the American capital with the Congress—with very frank, detailed conversations.

"I felt trust—trust that is always the basis of unity. There were clear, straightforward questions from members of the House of Representatives and senators. There were straightforward answers."

Zelensky, his top officials, and Ukrainian lawmakers and civil society leaders are facing a tricky balancing act as the 2024 U.S. presidential election looms.

Bipartisan support for Ukraine remains strong, with polls suggesting a majority of voters from both main parties back continued American aid for Kyiv. But strong isolationist, or even pro-Russian, currents are emerging on the GOP fringes and in the party's presidential nomination contest.

Skeptical voices have also emerged on the Democrat left, though it appears the party as a whole will fall in line behind a second Biden presidential tilt. Ukrainian survival and the isolation of revanchist Russia stand among the incumbent's prime foreign policy achievements.

This goes some way to explaining the anti-war, pro-peace, and Moscow-aligned sentiment emanating from Biden's would-be presidential challengers on the right.

Former President Donald Trump—still the GOP frontrunner despite his dizzying array of legal travails—for example, has been promoting his supposed plan to end the war within 24 hours of taking office, which would effectively amount to pressuring Kyiv to make sweeping territorial concessions to Moscow.

"Anti-woke" former biotech executive Vivek Ramaswamy, meanwhile, has echoed Trump's plan to "accept Russian control of the occupied territories," plus vowed to "end sanctions and bring Russia back into the world market" as a proposed bulwark against a rising China.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis—who remains among the leading candidates despite his campaign having badly lost steam—was forced to walk back March comments framing Russia's full-scale invasion as a "territorial dispute" that is not key to American national interests.

Other GOP candidates are taking a more traditionally interventionist tack, though such an approach appears to be doing little to boost their flagging approval ratings.

Former Vice President Mike Pence said this week he would give Ukrainians "the resources they need to defeat and repel the Russian invasion and reclaim their sovereignty."

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, meanwhile, has said the war is "one we have to win" and criticized Trump this week for being "weak in the knees" on the matter.

Ukrainian diplomats and officials are confident—at least publicly—that febrile electioneering will not derail Kyiv's D.C. advocacy.

"Nothing will happen if Ukraine is not on board," Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna told Newsweek in July.

"There might be discussions, there might be visions, there might be proposals, there might be some electoral slogans—which are already taking place," she said. "But at the end of the day, we feel ourselves more or less secure, knowing that it is Ukraine, at the end of the day, who would have to make the decisions."