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Zelensky to Visit White House Under Shadow of Trump Spat

FILE - President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
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Zelensky to Visit White House Under Shadow of Trump Spat

FILE - President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will present his "victory plan" to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Thursday, but a blazing row with Donald Trump underscored how the US election could soon upend support for Kyiv.
Zelensky's trip to the White House is set to feature the announcement of a surge in US support, although it is unclear whether he will get the green light he wants for Ukraine to fire US-made long-range missiles into Russia.
Republican presidential contender Trump, who faces Democratic Vice President Harris in November's close election, had also been due to meet Zelensky but their talks now appear to be on ice, said AFP.
Trump accused Zelensky on the eve of the visit of refusing to strike a deal with Moscow and once again questioned why the United States was giving billions of dollars to Kyiv.
Biden will host Zelensky in the Oval Office at 1:45 pm local time (1745 GMT), the White House said. The Ukrainian leader and Harris will deliver remarks at 3:05 pm before their meeting in the vice president's office.
Zelensky was also due to visit the US Congress.
During a meeting at the United Nations on Wednesday, Biden "informed president Zelensky that he has directed a surge in US security assistance to Ukraine, which will be announced publicly" on Thursday, the White House said.
Zelensky gave a defiant address at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday in a bid to rally international support amid an increasingly difficult situation on the battlefield.
The Ukrainian has for several weeks touted the so-called "victory plan" he will present to Biden, but has given no details of his proposals to end the war, which is now in its third year.
'Greatest salesman'
The United States has provided around $175 billion in both military and economic assistance to Ukraine during the war, despite frequent opposition from Republicans.
The Biden administration announced another $375 million on Wednesday, including munitions for HIMARS precision rocket launchers, cluster munitions and light tactical vehicles.
But Zelensky has been pushing the United States hard to give the green light for Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russian territory -- permission Biden has so far refused.
Russia has strongly warned against such a step. President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday unveiled new rules meaning Moscow would consider using nuclear weapons in response to a massive air attack.
Kyiv has relied on the United States as its main military backer, but the knife-edge US election on November 5 means that support may now hang in the balance.
Trump has echoed many of Putin's talking points about previous US policy being to blame for the Russian invasion, and has been critical of Zelensky for years.
At an election rally on Wednesday, the Republican called the Ukrainian president "probably the greatest salesman on Earth."
"We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal, Zelensky," he said.
Republicans were livid after Zelensky told The New Yorker magazine this week Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance did not understand the war's complexity.
Trump has claimed that he could arrange a peace deal within 24 hours if elected, but Kyiv fears it would involve ceding swathes of territory seized by Russia.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has declined a meeting with Zelensky in Congress, called on the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States to quit on Wednesday after Zelensky visited an arms factory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania with the state's Democratic governor.
Johnson accused the ambassador of having deliberately excluded Republicans.

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Taiwan Demonstrates Sea Defenses against Potential Chinese Attack as Tensions Rise with Beijing

A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
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Taiwan Demonstrates Sea Defenses against Potential Chinese Attack as Tensions Rise with Beijing

A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO

Taiwan on Thursday demonstrated its sea defenses against a potential Chinese attack as tensions rise with Beijing, part of a multitiered strategy to deter an invasion from the mainland.
The island’s navy highlighted its Kuang Hua VI fast attack missile boats and Tuo Chiang-class corvettes in waters near Taiwan’s largest port of Kaohsiung, a major hub for international trade considered key to resupplying Chinese forces should they establish a beachhead on the island.
The Kuang Hua VI boats, with a crew of 19, carry indigenously developed Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles and displayed their ability to take to the sea in an emergency to intercept enemy ships about to cross the 44-kilometer (24-nautical mile) limit of Taiwan’s contiguous zone, within which governments are permitted to take defensive action.
China routinely sends ships and planes to challenge Taiwan’s willingness and ability to counter intruders, prompting Taiwan to scramble jets, activate missile systems and dispatch warships. Taiwan demanded on Wednesday that China end its ongoing military activity in nearby waters, which it said is undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and disrupting international shipping and trade.
Mountainous Taiwan's strategy is to counter the much larger Chinese military with a relatively flexible defense that can prevent Chinese troops from crossing the strait. Landing sites are few on Taiwan's west coast facing China, forcing Beijing to focus on the east coast.
Hsiao Shun-ming, captain of a Tuo Chiang-class corvette, said his ship’s relatively small size still allows it to “deliver a formidable competitive power” against larger Chinese ships. The Tuo Chiang has a catamaran design and boasts high speeds and considerable stealth ability.
Taiwan has in recent years reinvigorated its domestic defense industry, although it still relies heavily on US technology such as upgraded fighter jets, missiles, tanks and detection equipment. US law requires it to consider threats to the island as matters of “grave concern,” and American and allied forces are expected to be a major factor in any conflict.
Thursday's exercise “demonstrates the effectiveness of asymmetric warfare, and Taiwan’s commitment to defense self-reliance,” said Chen Ming-feng, rear admiral and commander of the navy’s 192 Fleet specializing in mine detection. “We are always ready to respond quickly and can handle any kind of maritime situation.”
China's authoritarian one-party Communist government has refused almost all communication with Taiwan's pro-independence governments since 2016, and some in Washington and elsewhere say Beijing is growing closer to taking military action.
China considers Taiwan a part of its territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, while most Taiwanese favor their de facto independence and democratic status.