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President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine rallies global leaders for support in his country’s grueling war against Russia at the 2024 U.N. General Assembly on Sep. 25. Besides his official address, Zelensky wanted to sell what he calls his “victory plan”, a strategy to secure Ukraine’s victory on their terms, to Western leaders and especially President Biden.

As the Russia-Ukraine war rages on after more than two years, Western involvement in the war has become critical to its outcome. Despite the military, economic and humanitarian assistance from the U.S. and European nations, restrictions and divisions among Western allies could hinder an end to the conflict.

At the recent U.N. General Assembly, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine requested support for Ukraine from global leaders, arguing that peace will only come when Russia fully withdraws its forces from Ukrainian territory. His plea comes amid pressure from Western leaders to negotiate a cease-fire deal with Russia, which Zelensky believes would be only a temporary lull in the war.

History teacher Donna Gilbert believes that the U.S. has an obligation as a global leader to support the Ukrainian people in maintaining their independence. 

“The vast majority of Ukrainians want to keep their sovereignty and are certainly, as a sovereign nation, allowed to defend the integrity of their land and defend themselves,” history teacher Donna Gilbert said. “The United States, as a leader of NATO and one of the military superpowers, has to continue to defend that territory as we did after the Cold War and even right after World War II.”

Since the start of the war, the U.S. has provided billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine. However, Western leaders have restricted Ukraine’s use of more sophisticated weapons, like long-range missiles, in order to strike a balance between empowering Ukraine to defend itself and preventing a larger-scale conflict with Russia. 

“Western Europe and the United States have put too many restrictions on how Ukraine can fight this war against Russia,” history teacher Sohrab Ghassemi said. “The United States especially has put restrictions on when, where and how weapons can be used because of a fear of an escalation that could draw in NATO, the United States and Europe. Ukraine has not been able to defend itself against an aggressor to its full ability because of these restrictions.”

Republicans’ and Democrats’ opposing stances on the war have also undermined American support for Ukraine. Republicans in Congress are increasingly critical of the Biden administration’s level of spending and support in prioritizing aid to Ukraine. 

“The trajectory that the war between Russia and Ukraine will take will be directly dependent on who wins the U.S. presidential election in November,” Dr. Ghassemi said. “Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have very different policies regarding the war in Ukraine, and it will have a huge impact on how that war unfolds. Until then, I think you’re gonna end up in the kind of situation that we’ve had for the past several months.”

Zelensky aims to sell what he calls his “victory plan” to Western leaders, especially to President Biden. The plan includes admission into NATO, access to long-range missiles, sustained supply of advanced weapons from NATO states, membership of the European Union and additional economic aid from its allies. 

“One of the reasons we see President Zelensky coming all the time is because he truly needs not just old fashioned tanks, but more sophisticated weaponry,” Gilbert said. “Since he recently got that, it seems to be working. Changing the style to this more sophisticated drone warfare, which has just happened recently in the last couple of months, seemed to shift things a little.”

NATO members previously opposed giving membership to Ukraine because it would involve all member states in fighting the war against Russia — the NATO treaty considers an attack against one member state an attack against all. 

Despite NATO’s reservations, the Biden administration announced a new aid package totalling up to $8 billion for Ukraine on Sept. 26. This aid package provides Ukraine with more access to Joint Standoff Weapons, which are long-range, precision-guided glide bombs. Biden also plans on expanding the U.S. Department of Defense’s training program to include Ukrainian F-16 pilots. 

For 31% of American citizens, the surge in aid for Ukraine may not seem worthwhile. Some view U.S. involvement in Ukraine as a possible threat to national security, while others believe that the billions in aid spent on Ukraine could be better utilized for domestic purposes.

Junior Luke Wu followed the war closely as a speech and debate student, and he echoed this sentiment.

“America has been spending a lot of money on aid packages, and that hasn’t done much to change the war at all,” Luke said. “The war currently is a war of attrition, which means that either side is just trying to slowly fight out the other by making the other weaker, not necessarily by overwhelming the other militarily.”

Former President Trump also met with Zelensky on Sept. 27 to discuss possible solutions to end the war. Their meeting concluded with a consensus that an end to the war was needed. Zelensky also stated he feels an increased sense of urgency to speak with both candidates about the Russia-Ukraine war because of the change in U.S. leadership after the November presidential election. 

As the months until the election hit the final stretch, both parties aim to continue U.S. support of Ukraine. The key question now is how each candidate plans to deliver this aid.