(Bloomberg) — Volodymyr Zelenskiy began his visit to the US with a stop at an ammunition plant in Pennsylvania, a critical swing state that will help determine the outcome of November’s US presidential election.
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The trip to Scranton, Joe Biden’s hometown, on Sunday kicked off an intense week of diplomacy as Ukrainian president is set to address the UN General Assembly in New York and unveil his so-called “victory plan” to force Russia to end the war.
“For our warriors who are defending not only our country, not only Ukraine, the plant will be ramping up production,” Zelenskiy said in a post on X social media platform. “It is in places like this where you can truly feel that the democratic world can prevail.”
The Scranton plant produces 155mm artillery shells used in howitzer weapons systems, some of the most-needed munitions for Ukraine’s fight to deter the Russian troops.
Zelenskiy also met with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Senator Bob Casey, and Congressman Matt Cartwright. “We agreed to work even more actively to increase our common strength—the strength of both Ukraine and America”, the president said in another post on X.
Governor Shapiro and the governor of Zaporizhzhia region in Ukraine’s south, Ivan Fedorov, signed a cooperation agreement on energy, agriculture, defense, digital technologies and reconstruction, according to the president’s website. The manufacturing of weapons and military equipment is an “absolute priority” for Ukraine, Zelenskiy said.
Zaporizhzhia region has been partially occupied by Russia since 2022 and is regularly attacked by Russian air strikes. It is home to steelworks, machine-building and energy facilities. In March, Russian missile barrage put a major hydroelectric plant in Zaporizhzhia out of operation by destroying a dam and turbines.
The US has supplied Kyiv with military aid worth of billions of dollars since the beginning of Moscow’s invasion in 2022. Weapon producers are getting more orders to replace defense aid which was shipped to Ukraine.
Along with speaking at the UN General Assembly, Zelenskiy is planning to present his “victory plan” to US President Joe Biden as well as to presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
In their meeting, Zelenskiy will push Biden to provide an official invitation for Ukraine to join the NATO military alliance and commit to a sustained supply of advanced weapons.
Ukrainian president has repeatedly criticized his western partners for delays in promised military support. He said this month that Ukraine faced severe shortages of ammunition shells in its eastern Donetsk region before his troops surprise incursion into Kursk region of Russia in August got underway.
That incursion is part of the victory plan to force Kremlin to end its full-scale invasion, president said last month.
“It will be decided this autumn what will happen with the war,” Zelenskiy said in his video address on Sunday.
–With assistance from Olesia Safronova.
(Updates with meeting with Pennsylvania governor and cooperation agreement with Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region from 5th paragraph.)
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