Zelenskyy hopes US election won't influence support for Ukraine
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with ABC News he hoped the U.S. election wouldn't influence support for Ukraine but that he understood U.S. policy could change and "therefore we need to prepare in advance."
That is why the "Victory Plan" is important, he said, saying he wants to discuss it with the U.S. presidential candidates. Zelenskyy again expressed gratitude to Americans and apologized for having to ask again for support.
"I'm so sorry. I know that you have your challenges. But I have to underline it and to repeat. We can't now be weak. We can't relax. Because we didn't stop Putin. Didn't stop him in his crazy ideas. That's why we have to be strong and I'm asking to understand us," he said.
Zelenskyy also repeated his appeal to the United States to drop its restrictions on the long-range missiles they have provided to Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia. The Ukrainian head of state said he would raise the issue again with U.S. President Joseph Biden again this week.
He said he believed other allies such as France, Britain, Italy, and Germany would allow it but that the U.S. needed to lead the decision.
"But the main role is in the United States, in the president of United States, Biden. Everybody's looking up to him, and we need this to defend ourselves," Zelenskyy said.