Operational pause until mid-October: lessons that President’s Office should learn from Zelenskyy’s U.S. visit

Zelenskyy had to go to Washington. Not just because he's been talking about a new victory plan for over a month (which no one, not even the telethon's friendly journalists, has actually seen). But in the third year of full-scale war, with global attention shifting toward Israel’s fight with Hezbollah, it’s hard to keep the spotlight on our own war. So, like it or not, we need to remind the world we’re still here. However, some diplomats and experts say visiting the U.S. during its election peak is like walking into a herd of moose during mating season — you're bound to leave with bruises, ruffled clothes, and a fair bit of cussing.

Zelenskyy arrived in the U.S. just 40 days before election day, a time when Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s campaign strategists are laser-focused on securing swing states. Pennsylvania, the big prize, is especially crucial — whoever wins it takes the presidency.

So, Zelenskyy and his visit to a factory in Scranton, or Ambassador Oksana Markarova, aren’t the problem. The real issue is how both Trump and Harris are using the Ukraine situation to score points off each other.

Even after meeting Zelenskyy, they’ll stick to their guns. Trump will keep telling his base that World War III will break out if Harris wins. Meanwhile, Harris will keep saying Trump would hand Ukraine over to Russia on a silver platter. And Trump insists that his personal talents and relationship with Putin will end the war.

We have to be blunt: plan A for Ukraine's leadership has hit a wall. Zelenskyy’s charisma isn’t cutting it the way it did at the start of the invasion. We need new ways to communicate with Western politicians.

And when it comes to the U.S., what we need to do is to get past the "damn Trump" narrative and start talking seriously to Republicans. Let’s not forget, they control Congress, and that’s where future weapons and money for Ukraine's defense in 2025 will come from.

For the first time, The Economist has published a significant article that openly acknowledges: without integrating Ukraine into the West’s security framework, the "axis of evil" will prevail. But we need to focus on boosting our own weapons production. The government also needs to be upfront with the public, keeping them grounded and united.

These challenges aren’t just about the upcoming U.S. election. Even if Trump loses, the Republican Party isn’t going anywhere. And the key players who could help fund and arm Ukraine's defense are sitting right there in the GOP.

When you scroll through X today, you'll see plenty of speculation about Ukraine, often from people pushing the narrative that helping Ukraine isn’t worth it — after all, Kyiv is full of golden domes, while here in Los Angeles, people are living in tents on the streets.

Much of this manipulation can be traced back to Trump's rhetoric.

Just one day before, at election rallies, Trump painted a grim picture: "Everything is destroyed here, people are dead, the country is in ruins. Ukraine no longer exists. You can never rebuild these towns, never replace these lives."

And then, just a day after meeting with Zelenskyy, his tune shifted to: "I'll visit Ukraine. It's a beautiful country — great weather, great everything."

Unfortunately, the current U.S. president and his administration seem overly cautious in the face of Russia’s nuclear threats. So far, they’ve held back on offering Ukraine NATO membership, which would expedite military aid from the West.

We need to start planning now for what comes after this political storm in the U.S. What new strategies can we present to secure firm support from both parties — so that senators and congressmen don’t just talk about backing Ukraine, but take real action?

Officials in the Zelenskyy administration — and those who come after — will need to learn a key lesson. You don’t approach a country that invented military logistics, won two world wars, and leads the global stage without solid business offers, detailed plans, and proposals for tight partnerships, so that in Los Angeles there are fewer tents with homeless people.

Whatever Zelenskyy brought to the U.S., and whether Biden actually heard him through the noise of the presidential election, is unclear. We’re grateful that the Pentagon found another $8 billion in the budget for us, but let’s be honest — it’s not enough while the Kremlin claims it's “defeating NATO in Ukraine.” And let's not forget, we aren’t NATO members, yet we’re forced to fight the entire military might of the USSR — a force that was built to take on the West.

It’s clear that Western leaders and Zelenskyy will start laying out serious victory plans by mid-October. First, there’s a meeting of Western leaders in Berlin, followed by another Ramstein session.

That gives Zelenskyy’s team time to recover from the roller-coaster of American politics and fix some of the communication gaps with the West. And this is where I wish Zelenskyy the best. Presidents will come and go, but our independence must stay.

Special for Espreso

About the author: Maryna Danyliuk-Yarmolayeva, journalist.

The editors do not always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.