Zelenskyy's trip to the U.S.: What to expect from his visit

As of today, the official program of the visit is not publicly disclosed. However, there is an approximate schedule for September 19-21 that has appeared in the media.

Day 1: Debates at the United Nations General Assembly

Tomorrow, joint debates will begin at the United Nations General Assembly session in New York. According to preliminary schedules, Zelenskyy will speak in the first half of the day on September 19.

The theme of the week-long debates is "Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all."

Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy will speak at the UN General Assembly debates and talk about the Peace Formula (Getty Images)

On the first day, around 40 presidents will speak from the tribune, including U.S. leader Joe Biden, Poland's Andrzej Duda, President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Czechia's Petr Fiala, among others.

It is expected that over 140 heads of states and governments will gather at the UN headquarters in the U.S. Another topic of the debates will be holding Russia accountable for aggression against Ukraine and war crimes.

What Zelenskyy will talk about

As explained by the advisor to the President's Office, Mykhailo Podolyak, Zelenskyy will advocate for the urgent victory over Russia from the UN platform. He will also explain why the war must come to a just end and why assistance to Ukraine is a contribution to stability and the restoration of international law.

Additionally, Zelenskyy will emphasize that "ending the war can be expedited if there is a sufficient supply of weapons to Ukraine."

Another PO representative, Ihor Zhovkva, stated back in August that the president would discuss the Peace Formula, a special tribunal for Russia, and mechanisms for compensation for war losses during the visit. According to him, the visit "in one form or another" will be devoted to meetings on the Peace Formula.

"There will be many bilateral meetings, including states from the Global South and other continents. We are making the most of this opportunity of the visit to New York, which we are confident will yield significant results," added the Deputy Head of the President's Office.

Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine's Ambassador to the UN, explained the importance of Zelenskyy's address to the General Assembly.

"Our president is scheduled to speak in the first half of the first day, which is very important. Essentially, this reflects the position and importance that Ukraine holds in global affairs," he stated in early September.

Day 2: Zelenskyy at the United Nations Security Council

The open session of the United Nations Security Council will take place the next day, on September 20. Albanian Ambassador Ferit Hoxha stated that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy would participate.

"I can almost confirm... President Zelensky will be present in New York. This will be his first visit to the city and the UN since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, and his first participation in the UN Security Council here," he said.

At the moment, Albania currently holds the presidency of the Security Council, which consists of 15 member states. The September 20 meeting will focus on the Russia-Ukraine war.

Germany has announced that Chancellor Olaf Scholz "will inform the world community about all the horrors of the war and the scale of international law violations, and will also remind that the food and energy crisis, as well as global inflation, are consequences of Russian actions."

Photo: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov may be present at the United Nations Security Council meeting (Getty Images)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov may be present at the United Nations Security Council meeting, as reported by propagandist media citing Russia's UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya.

As Politico reports, Ukrainian representatives have declined to comment on whether Zelenskyy's participation in such a meeting with Lavrov is possible.

According to the American media, Lavrov is likely to hold meetings with Global South leaders. However, the Ukrainian side will try to secure their support. One of the main tasks is to persuade Global South states to pressure the Kremlin to halt Russia's military activities in the Black Sea. Additionally, Zelenskyy intends to seek the support of countries economically connected to Russia and China.

Germany's dpa media notes that all attention will be focused on whether there will be a confrontation between Zelenskyy and Lavrov on the sidelines of the General Assembly or at the Security Council. UN Secretary-General António Guterres notes that he does not expect any diplomatic breakthrough.

"I would like to be able to play a mediating role in peace negotiations, but I think we are far from it being possible," he said.

What is known about bilateral meetings in New York

In New York, Zelenskyy will hold a series of bilateral meetings. Currently, it is confirmed that he will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda on September 19. One of the topics for discussion will be the import of Ukrainian grain, which Warsaw recently extended a ban on.

Duda, in a statement to the Polish news agency PAP, has already stated his intention to defend Polish interests in this matter.

"The fact that Ukrainian grain is sold in Poland is absolutely not in our interests. It does not benefit our farmers. We should protect our market, and we will do so while continuing to help Ukraine," he said.

Israeli Ambassador Michael Brodsky announced Zelenskyy's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The meeting between the Prime Minister of Israel and the President of Ukraine will take place in New York in the next few days during the United Nations General Assembly session," he tweeted.

Recently, the leaders of both countries had a phone call, during which they discussed Israeli support of Ukraine. This meeting in New York will be the first since the start of the full-scale war. Previously, Netanyahu faced criticism for being one of the few democratic leaders who had not visited Kyiv.

As of today, there have been no announcements about meetings with other world leaders.

Day 3: Addressing senators and meeting with Biden

As reported by The Washington Post, on September 21, Zelenskyy will head to Washington. This trip was coordinated with the White House to emphasize the importance of Congress approving an additional $24 billion in aid to Ukraine.

Currently, it is unclear whether Congress will approve this sum, as there are significant split within the Republican Party on this issue. Some right-wing Republicans, including Donald Trump, argue that the U.S. already provides too much assistance to Ukraine and should focus on domestic priorities.

According to CNN, the Ukrainian president will visit Capitol Hill and address senators around 10:00 local time (17:00 Kyiv time). The meeting with senators will be organized by the leaders of both Senate parties, Democrat Chuck Schumer and Republican Mitch McConnell.

Earlier, the same media, citing a source within the Republican Party, reported that Zelenskyy would not address a joint session of Congress. His address to Congress will be preceded by a closed briefing on Ukraine for senators scheduled for Wednesday.

Following the events on Capitol Hill, U.S. President Joe Biden will welcome Zelenskyy at the White House. Last week, the date and location were confirmed by Biden's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan. He also noted that Biden's speech at the UN General Assembly would largely focus on Ukraine.

Zelenskyy recently stated that he would discuss the supply of long-range ATACMS missile systems with Biden at the White House meeting. According to him, there is hope that Ukraine will receive them in the fall to avoid a pause in the counteroffensive.

"I will speak with President Biden. His opinion and support are very important to me. I think he can turn the page on this war. He did it once with HIMARS, which was crucial," he added.

However, Axios reports that Biden will not announce the supply of ATACMS missiles this week. These missiles are capable of hitting targets up to 300 kilometers away. Debates on this matter within Biden's administration are ongoing.

Zelenskyy's visit to the United States will be the second since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. The first visit took place in the latter half of December 2022.

What Zelensky brought from the U.S. in 2022

Ukrainian President's visit to the United States in December of last year marked his first foreign trip since Russia's invasion in February 2022. Prior to the visit, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a significant $1.85 billion military aid package.

Photo: Among other things, Zelenskyy brought guarantees of Patriot system deliveries from the United States (Getty Images)

Initially, Zelenskyy traveled to the Polish city of Rzeszow, from where he boarded a U.S. Air Force plane bound for Washington. There, he met with Joe Biden, who promised to provide the first battery of Patriot anti-ballistic missile systems to counter Russian ballistic missiles. Thanks to these anti-aircraft missile systems, the Ukrainian side gained the capability to intercept Iskander and hypersonic Kh-47 Kinzhal missiles.

The President of Ukraine also presented Biden with a medal of a Ukrainian officer responsible for the HIMARS system provided to Ukraine.

Following the meeting with his American counterpart, Zelenskyy addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress, urging for more assistance to Ukraine. He also presented Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi with a blue and yellow flag bearing the signatures of Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Bakhmut.