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If Zelenskyy implements his plan, there is hope for ending war in 2025 - Senator Graham

сенатор-республіканець Ліндсі Грем

After a meeting with the President of Ukraine in the Senate, Republican Lindsey Graham urged Joe Biden to allow Ukraine to shoot deep into Russia with Western weapons.

According to Censor.NET, this was reported by "Voice of America".

"President Zelenskyy says he wants to end this war through negotiations. The only way to bring Russia to the table is to hit them harder than we are hitting them today," Senator Graham told reporters after meeting with Zelenskyy.

He added that the main request of Ukraine and Zelenskyy is to obtain permission to use long-range missiles.

"Zelensky believes that if you break down these Russian bases (missile and air force) that are attacking his country, it will give him leverage to get Putin to the table. I also believe that," Graham said.

According to the lawmaker, no amount of money will help if Ukraine's ability to fight Russia more effectively is not strengthened.

"So, President Biden, if you don't allow this now, Russia will eventually weaken Ukraine, Russia's weapons production is growing, so in the long run, no change in military strategy will benefit Russia," Graham emphasized.

He emphasized that whoever the next US president is, "whether it's him or her," if Biden allows Ukraine to start hitting legitimate military targets to put pressure on Putin, he will be doing the next president a "great favor."

"Whether it's Trump or Harris, they will have some leverage to end this war," the Republican senator emphasized.

If Ukraine starts implementing its plan and is able to shoot deep into Russia, the war next year could end in Ukraine's victory, the senator is convinced.

"So, Mr. President Biden, I know you want Ukraine to win. You have to allow President Zelenskyy to implement this plan. He has a plan. He has specific military objectives. If he can start implementing this plan, it gives us the best hope for ending this war in 2025," the lawmaker said.

Asked by journalists whether Putin could escalate the war if Western weapons are fired deep into Russia, the senator said that we should not allow the Russian president to influence the policy on this war.

"Every time we give them [Ukrainians] more equipment, Putin threatens. If you let Putin make policy, we will lose. Don't let him make policy. The policy change that I want is to hit the legitimate military targets that Russia is using to kill innocent civilians and terrorize the Ukrainian people," he said.

He emphasized that the issue is only the shelling of military targets in Russia, "we are not talking about invading Moscow."

"If you continue the policy of deterring Ukraine because you're concerned about escalation, you're dooming them to lose," Graham said.

"I hope that Ukraine will demonstrate the ability to strike at Russia in a way that will end this war through a diplomatic settlement, and the next president [of the United States] will have some leverage when it comes to ending this war," the Republican senator concluded.

Graham expressed hope that Zelenskyy's visit to the United States would result in the creation of a new strategy to end the war in Ukraine.

"I hope that this week or early next week, he will leave not only with bipartisan support to continue to fight for Ukraine, but he will leave with a new strategy that will make it more likely that the war will end on favorable terms. If he leaves and there are no changes in the military strategy to put pressure on Putin, I think that it will be President Biden's biggest mistake," the Republican senator said.

As a reminder, the day before, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine could receive permission to use Western weapons against military targets in Russia as early as the beginning of winter 2024.