Time reports about "uneasy" relations between Kamala Harris and Zelenskyy
In February 2022, a few days before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, US Vice President Kamala Harris turned down the idea of preventive sanctions against Moscow, suggested by the Ukrainian side.
Simon Shuster, author of the Time article, describes the meeting between Harris and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in 2022. Both agreed back then that Russia’s invasion would very likely happen soon.
Zelenskyy urged the US to implement preventive sanctions against Russia, stating that this would force Russian ruler Vladimir Putin to reconsider his decision to invade Ukraine and to supply Ukraine with all the necessary weapons, specifically anti-aircraft systems, fighter jets and artillery.
The Ukrainian officials present at the meeting stated Harris turned both offers down.
A Time’s source in the White House explained that the US considered the mere threat of the sanctions a more effective means of deterrence than their implementation, and providing Ukraine with armament might have strengthened Putin’s belief that Ukraine is a "client state of NATO".
"Vice President Harris has been a strong proponent of enduring U.S. support for Ukraine and has repeatedly expressed an unwavering commitment to support the people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Russia’s brutal aggression," a source says.
Time states that the meeting in 2022 "set the tone for a relationship" between Zelenskyy and Harris "that has never been particularly warm" (though it is not explained why).
It is noted that Harris has never been on a visit in Ukraine, even after the beginning of the full-scale invasion, though she met with Zelenskyy six times. Their latest meeting was held on the sidelines of the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland in June.
"At her meetings with Ukrainian officials in recent years, she did show sympathy for their plight, one of them said, but I would call it formal sympathy, following protocol," Shuster writes.
Kamala Harris is now known to be the Democratic presidential candidate and has a chance to win the election, beating Donald Trump.