In a world where the lines between peace and capitulation often blur, U.S Vice President Kamala Harris has asserted a stance, shining a crucial light on the stakes at hand in remarks to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Harris indirectly denounced the Trump campaign’s policy on ending Russia’s war against Ukraine as the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Washington to present his own “victory plan.”

Addressing Zelenskyy at the White House, Harris said that “some in my country” would pressure Ukraine to accept a peace deal in which it surrendered its sovereign territory and neutrality in order to make peace with Vladimir Putin.

“These proposals are the same as those of Putin, and let us be clear, they are not proposals for peace. Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable.”
Kamala Harris

While she did not mention Donald Trump or JD Vance by name, those terms for peace closely resemble ones laid out by the Republican vice-presidential nominee in an interview earlier this month.

Trump and his running mate JD Vance have suggested that Kyiv should quickly cut a deal to end the war.

She promised her “unwavering” support for Ukraine.

Harris’s remarks came after Zelenskyy met Joe Biden at the White House for the formal presentation of Zelenskyy’s high-stakes proposal, which he has said can end the war with Russia with additional American aid.

The White House issued a short statement after the meeting, saying that the “two leaders discussed the diplomatic, economic, and military aspects of President Zelenskyy’s plan and tasked their teams to engage in intensive consultations regarding next steps”.

“President Biden is determined to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to win,” the statement said.

Zelenskyy has kept the details of the plan secret, but US officials have said it includes additional American aid to prevent a Ukrainian rout on the battlefield and “provide the [Ukrainian] people with the assurance that their future is part of the west”.

Zelenskyy faces an uphill battle in securing support for the plan, because of caution among senior officials in the Biden administration about providing Russia with a pretext to escalate the conflict further, and the looming November presidential elections that could lead to a re-election of Donald Trump.

US and European officials have noted with varying levels of alarm the potential for a Trump administration to sharply reduce US aid to Ukraine in order to force Zelenskyy to accept terms for a ceasefire.

Trump To Meet Zelenskyy

Meanwhile, Donald Trump told reporters that he would meet Zelenskyy at Trump Tower in New York.

At a press conference he rejected Harris’ criticisms and insisted that he only wants to stop the “horror show that’s gone on”.

When asked if Ukraine should give up territory, Trump was non-committal, saying

“We’ll see what happens,” he said.

He added, “Let’s get some peace … We need peace. We need to stop the death and destruction.”

Before announcing the meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump posted on social media a purported message from the Ukrainian President asking to see him.

The message, which was not confirmed by Ukrainian officials, said “we have to strive to understand each other.” The decision to publicly disclose what appeared to be private communications was a reminder of the tension that has been brewing between Trump and Zelenskyy.

he meeting came amid rising tensions between Zelenskyy and Trump, who has attacked the Ukrainian leader for “making little nasty aspersions toward your favourite president: me”.

Zelenskyy, in an interview published this week, said that he believed Trump “doesn’t really know how to stop the war.”

When asked about those comments by a reporter at the news conference, Trump said: “I do believe I disagree with him. He doesn’t know me.”