And the Ukrainian leader’s long-term strategic goal — convincing his allies to embrace the victory plan he promotes — remains elusive and beyond his control, analysts and officials said. The same goes for the use of large-scale Western weapons against Russia, the most immediate element of Zelensky’s plan.

Zelensky went through partisan politics

Zelensky’s visit to a munitions factory in the swing state of Pennsylvania upset Republicans, and House Speaker Mike Johnson issued an open letter saying the visit was part of a partisan campaign to support the Democrats. He demanded that Zelensky fire his ambassador to the United States, which did not happen.

There was talk of canceling a meeting with Republican candidate Donald Trump, but the two men met Friday in New York. Zelenskyy also angered some publications when he told The New Yorker that Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, “is too radical.”

Zelensky nevertheless presented his vision of victory to Trump, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden, and left with more aid, which will ensure that Ukraine can count on US aid until the coming to power of the new administration.

“The result of these two meetings was that Ukraine publicly showed that it was engaging on an equal footing with both candidates. Ukraine has no favorites and is ready to maintain open and normal relations with any future administration,” said Oleksandr Kraiev, an analyst at the Ukrainian Prism Foreign Policy Council.

Long-range weapons remain a red line

But the Biden administration’s red line remains long-range Western weapons intended to strike deep into Russia, even though Ukraine has long lobbied for the United States to lower that limit.

The United States fears an escalation, but Zelensky believes providing Ukraine with such capabilities would be a step toward ending the war, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said.

“The lifting of these informal restrictions will undoubtedly serve as a key indicator that decisive steps toward ending the war have been taken,” Podolyak said. “Of course, this won’t immediately end everything. But we want to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and we want to understand how and when this war will be resolved.”

Ukrainian leaders await the next meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany – defense leaders from more than 50 partner countries who meet regularly to coordinate weapons aid for the war. There, Ukraine will see how the group digested the victory plan presented by Zelensky.

Zelensky has not presented the plan publicly, but U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield to the U.N. said Sept. 17 that she had seen parts of it and that “it presents a strategy and a plan that can work “.

Ukraine seeks bipartisan support

Podolyak said Ukraine “managed to convey the message” about the resources needed to support its defenses in the current, potentially decisive, phase of the war.

No public pledges of support for Ukraine’s vision were made at the meetings, but Podolyak said kyiv anticipated that a response to the victory plan would likely come at the October 12 Ramstein meeting.

“We just have to wait a bit, because our partner countries are currently holding internal discussions,” he said. “We will see the results soon enough.”

Ukrainian lawmakers have been trying to convince Trump-allied officials for months, two of them said. One lawmaker said attempts to canvass Republicans sympathetic to the Ukrainian cause were unsuccessful. He spoke on condition of anonymity in order to speak freely on sensitive issues.

Zelensky and his nation still have elusive goals

Zelensky said that everything necessary for Ukraine to win the war with Russia is “on the partner’s table” – an indication that kyiv has no choice but to wait for his decision.

He made the statement while addressing the nation at the end of his trip to the United States.

“The victory plan was presented to America and we explained every point,” he said.

But analysts and lawmakers said Ukraine views both presidential candidates as potentially problematic.

Many are concerned by Trump’s claims that the war could be resolved quickly, fearing that this would involve negotiations on Russian terms, potentially involving territorial concessions and abandonment of security guarantees from Western allies.

Meanwhile, others said they believed Harris would continue Biden’s foreign policy, which many Ukrainians and outside observers say is primarily driven by fear of a broader war rather than a well-established strategy. designed to defeat Russia.

Allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles would be a crucial signal that the United States is committed to supporting kyiv in this long and difficult war.

“Biden is too cautious to give this authorization before the election,” said another lawmaker on the Foreign Policy Committee, speaking on condition of anonymity to openly discuss sensitive issues. “But once the elections are over, he could give this authorization,” he said, echoing the hope of many Ukrainian officials.