President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, a one-time actor now making perhaps his most important visit to the United States in recent years, knows how to build dramatic tension.
For days, Mr. Zelensky and his team have talked about his planned speech Wednesday to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. And they have teased Mr. Zelensky’s “victory plan” in Ukraine’s war with Russia, which he won’t unveil publicly until presenting it Thursday to President Biden in Washington.
With his recent public messaging, Mr. Zelensky is well on his way to succeeding with what is likely his most achievable goal for his U.S. visit: trying to regain attention for a war that in its third year has been overshadowed by the conflict in Gaza.
“One of his main goals is to try to put the Ukraine war back on the global agenda” and the minds of policymakers in Washington and in Europe, said Max Bergmann, the director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
He said Mr. Zelensky also wants to convince developing countries that have been neutral on the war to support Ukraine, a prospect that seems unlikely, given that they haven’t publicly backed Ukraine so far. “He sees an opportunity at the U.N. to put some international pressure on Russia as well,” Mr. Bergmann added.
This week, Mr. Zelensky will be pushing for all possible military aid, a shift in international thinking that says Russia cannot be defeated and long-term security guarantees to ensure support for Ukraine if Donald J. Trump, who has long been skeptical of U.S. involvement in the war, is elected in November.
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