WSJ: White House Questions Zelensky’s Victory Plan, Cites Lack of Strategy Beyond Weapons Requests

The administration of US President Joe Biden is concerned that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s victory plan lacks a comprehensive strategy and essentially amounts to a repeated request for additional weapons and the lifting of restrictions on the use of long-range missiles, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials ahead of the plan’s presentation.

Zelensky plans to brief Biden on the details of the plan on Thursday, marking the first time the White House will hear the full structure.

High-ranking officials from the US and Europe familiar with the main aspects of the plan note that it does not offer a clear path to Ukraine’s victory, especially given that Russian forces are slowly but steadily advancing on the battlefield.

“I’m unimpressed, there’s not much new there,” one senior official remarked.

The main demand of the plan is permission for Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike Russian territory. However, President Biden has refused to lift these restrictions for months, fearing an escalation of the conflict, despite pressure from European allies.

According to a senior State Department official, Ukraine’s plan overall addresses the military needs on the battlefield, internal political changes, and the economy. However, US and European officials believe that the most developed part of the plan is the requests related to weaponry, while other key elements are less detailed.

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The US stance has met stiff resistance from several European leaders who believe that after two and a half years, Ukraine has earned the right to freely counter Russian forces. As The Wall Street Journal reports, some world leaders expressed visible disappointment while speaking this week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Ukrainian representatives, including Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak, describe the plan as “very specific and clear.” They emphasize that it includes both military and diplomatic components and outlines potential future economic benefits.

The WSJ notes that the White House was hoping to hear something concrete from Kyiv that the Biden administration could support in the four months remaining in its term.

In his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, President Biden called on the West to continue supporting Ukraine’s defense, despite war fatigue weakening the political resolve of some of Kyiv’s allies.

On Aug. 27, during a press conference, President Zelensky stated that “Kursk Oblast is part of Ukraine’s victory plan.”

“It may sound overly ambitious to some, but for us, it’s an important plan,” Zelensky said.

On Sept. 20, the Ukrainian president announced that the victory plan is designed for swift and decisive actions from Ukraine’s partners between October and December 2024.