Kamala Harris has hit out at opponents making “proposals for surrender” in Ukraine – making a thinly veiled criticism of Donald Trump.
The US vice president and Democratic candidate for president said some want Ukraine to strike peace with Russia by accepting neutrality and foregoing security relationships with other nations during a news conference with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
US election latest: Harris takes aim at Putin alongside Zelenskyy
“Ukraine has stood up to Russia’s aggression and today Kyiv stands free and strong. President Zelenskyy, I am clear,” she said.
“Putin started this war and he could end it tomorrow if he simply withdrew his troops from Ukraine’s sovereign territory.”
Hinting at Mr Trump’s recent comments saying Ukraine should have taken “a bad deal,” Ms Harris added: “They are not proposals for peace. Instead, they are proposals for surrender.
“The US can not and should not isolate ourselves from the rest of the world. Isolation is not insulation.”
Mr Trump has said he will meet with Mr Zelenskyy on Friday in a post on Truth Social.
It comes a day after the former president suggested Ukraine should have made concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the months before the war started.
At a campaign rally in North Carolina, Mr Trump said: “The worst deal would’ve been better than what we have now. If they made a bad deal, it would’ve been much better.
“They would’ve given up a little bit and everybody would be living and every building would be built, and every tower would be ageing for another 2,000 years.”
“What deal can we make? It’s demolished,” he added. “The people are dead. The country is in rubble.”
Mr Trump has also previously claimed he would end the war in Ukraine the same day he retakes office – but has also condemned Russia’s invasion.
Zelenskyy said at the White House: ‘We have to end this war, we need a just peace.’
Pic: Reuters
Zelenskyy calls for more air defence
Meanwhile, Mr Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s air defences need to be “urgently strengthened” to “save thousands of lives and reduce Russian terror to zero”.
“We have to end this war, we need a just peace. We must protect our people: Ukrainian families, Ukrainian children and everyone from Putin’s evil,” he said at the White House.
His appearance came after a meeting with Joe Biden, where the US president announced a “surge” in military support for Ukraine.
The new package includes long-desired glide bombs, air defence kit, and more training for Ukrainian pilots, but it did not come with permission to use long-range missiles against targets inside Russia.
Recent weeks have seen Mr Zelenskyy pushing the US and other Western allies for permission to use longer-range missile systems to strike deeper into Russia.
So far the Pentagon and White House have not green-lit the loosening of restrictions. There has been hesitation amid concerns over an escalation, which Russia has warned of.
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With 40 days to go until the election, next for Ms Harris is a visit to a border entry facility in Douglas, Arizona.
Sky’s partner network NBC News reported she will receive “official briefings on operations and progress on disrupting the flow of fentanyl through the southern border,” according to an official from her office.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump is meeting with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at Trump Tower in New York.
Speaking to journalists ahead of the meeting, Sir Keir reiterated he wanted to meet both Mr Trump and Ms Harris ahead of the November vote.