Harris urged Zelensky on succession plan pre‑invasion
The Vice President of the United States and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, before Russia invaded Ukraine, urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to develop a "succession plan" in case he was "captured or killed."
Information on this topic appeared in a new book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Woodward, titled "War," excerpts of which were published by "The Washington Post."
"Now I have to deal with Russia devouring Ukraine?"
According to Woodward, Harris discussed the issue with Zelensky in February 2022 at the Munich Security Conference. At the same time, as the journalist writes, the administration of the current U.S. President, Joe Biden, found it hard to believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin would decide to invade.
When CIA Director William Burns presented Biden with U.S. intelligence data on the impending aggression, the American president called it "madness."
"Oh my God, now I have to deal with Russia devouring Ukraine?" Biden supposedly said.
Earlier, Time magazine reported that a week before the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Harris refused to provide Zelensky with arms and impose preemptive sanctions on Russia. According to the magazine, the politicians' meeting at the Munich conference set the tone for their future relations, "which were never particularly warm."
Harris will not meet with Putin
In an interview published on Tuesday, Harris stated that "there will be no success in ending the war without the involvement of Ukraine and the United Nations Charter." She responded negatively when asked if she would meet with Vladimir Putin to negotiate a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
She also mentioned that if her opponent in the presidential election from the Republican Party, Donald Trump, were the President of the United States, "Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now," and she described his "peace plan" as a capitulation of Ukraine.
Trump has repeatedly stated that he would need 24 hours to end the war in Ukraine because he has good relations with both Putin and Zelensky.
Harris's victory "worst-case scenario"
"The Washington Post" sources among Russian officials reported that the Kremlin hopes Trump will win the presidential election, as it would create a "window of opportunity" to resolve the armed conflict on Russian terms.
Harris's victory is seen in Moscow as the worst possible scenario.
