Latest US elections: Trump confirms meeting with Zelensky after sharing “message from Ukrainian president” | US News

Kamala Harris and her campaign team hope her balcony appearance with Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be a glimpse into a presidential future.

The Democratic Party candidate, wearing her vice-presidential hat, met the Ukrainian president in his White House office.

The optics certainly gave off a presidential vibe, no doubt intentional.

Mr. Zelensky was here in Washington to outline his plan for victory over Russia.

But Ms. Harris chose to present the issues in a different way: the fate of Ukraine if Donald Trump wins in November.

“There are some in my country who would rather force Ukraine to abandon large parts of its sovereign territory…” she said.

“These proposals are the same as Putin’s. And let’s be clear, these are not peace proposals. Rather, they are surrender proposals, which is dangerous and unacceptable.”

It was hard-hitting language about her own political opponent and how she believed he was going to annoy Ukraine and reward the Russian president.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly said he would end the war in Ukraine in one day by bringing Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Putin together around the table.

His vice presidential running mate, JD Vance, gave some details a few weeks ago about what that would look like.

“I think it looks like Trump sitting down, telling the Russians, the Ukrainians and the Europeans: You have to understand what a peaceful settlement looks like,” Mr. Vance told the Shawn Ryan Show earlier this month. here.

“And what that probably looks like is the current dividing line between Russia and Ukraine, which is becoming like a demilitarized zone,” he added.

Mr. Zelensky has shown himself willing to sit down with the Russians and negotiate. But he wants to do it from a position of strength. Right now, Ukraine is barely holding on.

In places like Pokrovsk, the Russians could soon make big progress – watch our international correspondent Alex Rossi’s report for more here.

That’s why Mr. Zelensky wants the Americans to allow him to use Western weapons to strike deep inside Russia — to hit the archer, not just to remove the arrow.

He claims that if he succeeds, he will gain the upper hand, push back against Russia and be in a strong negotiating position.

Ultimately, this war will end in negotiation – a settlement in which both sides compromise while claiming their own victories.

Ukraine’s future – and its geography – depends to a large extent on what happens here in America in November.