WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the United States on Sunday to attend sessions at the U.N. General Assembly and urged his partners to help achieve “a shared victory for a truly just peace.”
“This fall will determine the future of this war,” he said in a post on X alongside his nightly video address, delivered from a plane he said was en route to Pennsylvania. Ukrainian media later reported he had arrived in New York. He is also due to visit Washington later in the week.
Zelenskyy did not say what his plans were in Pennsylvania, but the state is home to a munitions plant in President Joe Biden’s hometown of Scranton that is a key producer of crucial 155-millimeter artillery shells.
The Ukrainian leader’s concerns about a shortage of such munitions have taken on added urgency as Russia pummels Ukraine’s energy grid ahead of the critical winter months.
In his video, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was doing everything it could, by acquiring weapons and through diplomacy, “to consolidate our partners’ support and force Russia into peace.”
The Ukrinform state news agency reported separately that Zelenskyy had arrived in New York and that he would meet heads of U.S. companies to discuss his country’s energy needs as well as leaders of states and international organizations on Sunday.
Zelenskyy’s visit coincides with U.S. efforts to prepare a $375 million military aid package for Ukraine, breaking a months-long trend toward smaller packages for Kyiv’s military operations.
He said he would present a “victory plan” in Ukraine’s war against Russia first to Biden. He is also expected to discuss the plan with Vice President Kamala Harris in a separate meeting on Thursday, as well as with other world leaders.
Zelenskyy also hopes to meet Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has called U.S. aid to its eastern European ally a waste of money and has declined to say he wants Ukraine to win. Trump has said he will probably meet with Zelenskyy this week but no date has been announced.
Trump faces Harris in the Nov. 5 U.S. election.
Two U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday that an aid package, expected to be announced this week, includes patrol boats, additional ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), 155- and 105-millimeter artillery ammunition, spare parts and other weapons.