Western officials sought to lower expectations for the plan to end the war that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is presenting in New York this week, saying they don’t see it ushering in a breakthrough to the conflict with Russia.
One person familiar with Zelenskyy’s conversations with foreign leaders, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations, said there were no real surprises in president’s so-called “victory plan” and it wasn’t a major game-changer. Another official described it as a “wish list.”
The gloomy assessment of the plan underscores a deepening sense of pessimism among allied nations as the war drags into its third year. Allies also fear a weakening of support for Ukraine if former President Donald Trump returns to office after the elections only six weeks away.
At least one of the allies has suggested it’s time for a new round of outreach to President Vladimir Putin, either by Zelenskyy or other countries, the two officials said.
Western nations are also beginning to fret about their own safety as Russia presses ahead with weapons production that could have an impact beyond Ukraine.
Moscow intends to increase defense spending to a historic high of 13.2 trillion rubles ($142 billion) in 2025, according to draft three-year budget proposals seen by Bloomberg News.
Zelenskyy is pitching his plan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly’s annual meeting. The second official said that while allies want to support Ukraine for as long as necessary, he needs to clarify what peace might look like.
Zelenskyy told reporters on Friday the plan aims to put his country in a stronger position for future diplomatic talks with Russia. Kyiv has worried that a cease-fire without clear guarantees would leave Putin free to strike again after re-arming.
President’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Monday that the plan seeks an invitation to join the NATO alliance and encouraged partners to ignore Russia’s threats of escalation.
Zelenskyy visited an ammunition plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania — President Joe Biden’s hometown — over the weekend in a bid to keep Ukraine’s fight in the spotlight. He plans to present Biden with the “victory plan” later this week.
One message he’s bringing to the U.S. this week is for allies not to waver. In an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” set to air on Tuesday, Zelenskyy urged allies to end the war faster by strengthening Ukraine.
“I think we are closer to peace than we think,” he told ABC.
The outcome of the U.S. presidential race is likely impact the calculus. Trump told a rally on Monday that he believed Zelenskyy wanted his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, to win the election “so badly” and said he would look to push Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table if he won the election.
With no sign that the Kremlin plans to back down, allies are also discussing the possibility of reaching out to Putin directly ahead of a Group of 20 meeting in Brazil set for November, according to the first official.
Western leaders have so far signaled that they’re not willing to go much further in meeting Ukraine’s demands for even more sophisticated weaponry. U.S. officials, for example, sought to tamp down hopes that they’d approve Kyiv’s request to use their long-range missiles to hit targets deep in Russian territory.
Zelenskyy warned on Friday that if the plan is rejected, it will leave the world divided. “One side will support Ukraine and the other one will pretend they support that Russia and Ukraine sit at the negotiating table,” he told reporters in Kyiv.
