Harris slams ‘proposals for surrender’ in appearance with Zelensky

Vice President Harris on Thursday said so-called Ukraine peace plans from “some” in the United States are proposals for surrender during an appearance alongside the country’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, who has come under Republican fire this week.

“There are some in my country who would instead force Ukraine to give up large parts of its sovereign territory, who would demand that Ukraine accept neutrality, and would require Ukraine to forgo security relationships with other nations,” the vice president said.

“These proposals are the same as those of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and let us be clear, they are not proposals for peace. Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable,” she added.

Harris and Zelensky met on Thursday afternoon, after the Ukrainian president met with President Biden and went to the Capitol to meet with bipartisan groups of House and Senate members.

Harris did not name Republicans specifically in her remarks, but the visit comes as some members of the GOP have become increasingly isolationist, with former President Trump indicating that an end to the war should be prioritized over Ukraine’s victory. During a debate against Harris, he refused to say if he wants Ukraine to defeat Russia.

Republicans in Congress have become increasingly divided over Ukraine, with many senior GOP House members aligned with Senate leaders in support of Ukraine, while a growing right-wing group wants to end assistance to Kyiv.

Ukraine skeptics have grown louder this week after Zelensky went on a tour of a Pennsylvania weapons factory with Democrats, and criticized Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), in a magazine interview.

Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, is aligned with Biden in her unwavering support for Ukraine and has reiterated that notion on the campaign trail, drawing a distinction with Trump.

“Putin started this war and he could end it tomorrow if he simply withdrew his troops from Ukraine’s sovereign territory,” Harris said on Thursday.

“Nothing about the end of this war can be decided without Ukraine,” Harris added, noting that she has conveyed that stance to other world leaders.

Zelensky traveled to Washington after he attended the summit in New York at the United Nations General Assembly earlier this week, where he pushed for the international community to embrace his peace plan, which includes the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory.

At the White House, Zelensky introduced a victory plan he had talked about for weeks. He had promised to show it to not just Biden and Harris but also to Trump, the GOP presidential nominee.

There was no clear indication as of Thursday late afternoon of whether Trump would meet with Zelensky this week, though Trump claimed on his social media site, Truth Social, that Zelensky had requested a meeting for Friday.

Zelensky offered little details of the victory plan but said on Thursday that “we believe this war can be won.”

“We have to keep pressure on Russia to stop the war and to make truly lasting and just peace,” he said.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Thursday late afternoon that the meetings with Zelensky this week were a “really good couple of days.”

Kirby did not outline the victory plan that Zelensky presented on Thursday but said broadly that it “contains a series of initiatives and steps and objectives that President Zelensky believes will be important” to end the war with Russia and prevent future ones.

Zelensky’s meeting with Biden comes as Russian forces are making steady progress in eastern Ukraine, putting Kyiv in a precarious position after more than two years of war.

But overshadowing the meetings on Thursday were criticism from Republicans of Zelensky and Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. Republicans said they were not invited on the Pennsylvania visit and that it amounted to a campaign stop for Democrats, while other GOP lawmakers slammed Zelensky for calling Vance “too radical” in a New Yorker article published Sunday.

At the meeting with lawmakers, Zelensky pushed for the U.S. to speed up arms shipments and lift a policy prohibiting Ukraine from carrying out deep strikes inside of Russia.

Ahead of the Zelensky meeting, the White House had warned no such reversal was expected and there was no announcement on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Putin issued a new threat to the U.S. and Western nations, saying Russia could carry out nuclear attacks on any nation that has the backing of a nuclear-armed country.

Russia could be provoked if conventional missile strikes were directed at Moscow, Putin said, making what appears to be a veiled threat at the U.S. to not lift the policy prohibiting Ukraine from hitting deep into Russia.

Ukraine has pushed for a reversal of the policy, particularly after Ukrainian troops invaded Russia’s Kursk region in early August, which was previously considered a likely red line. Kyiv argues that allowing it to use long-range missiles to hit deep into Russia can stop punishing Russian attacks, such as glide bombs, by targeting airfields and military sites.

During the meeting with Zelensky, Biden said the U.S. will “stand with Ukraine now and in the future,” vowing Russia would not win the war.

“We have to ensure Ukraine has sufficient capabilities, I mean sufficient capabilities, to defend against future Russian aggression, so I’m proud of the steps we’ve taken in our partnership on these fronts,” Biden said.

Ahead of the Zelensky meeting, the Biden administration on Thursday announced $5.5 billion in new aid for Ukraine, drawing billions from defense stocks. As part of the new aid, Biden pledged to Ukraine a Patriot defense battery and expanded F-16 pilot training.

He also said $2 billion for Ukraine would be purchased through the defense industry.

Biden directed the weapons to flow in the billions rather than the standard packages of a few hundred million because an extension of his drawdown authority was not included in a continuing resolution passed by Congress this week to keep the federal government temporarily funded through Dec. 20.

The aid is expected to arrive in Ukraine by the end of Biden’s term on Jan. 20.