NEW YORK — UkraineView analysis. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with leaders and representatives of major American think tanks to discuss the negotiation process, preparations for winter and the strengthening of Ukrainian air defense.
The September 24 meeting brought together figures from a broad range of U.S. policy institutions and was moderated by Oksana Markarova, an adviser to the Ukrainian president on reconstruction and investment.
Ukraine is taking its argument beyond government
Meetings with think tanks do not create U.S. policy, but they can influence the policy environment in Washington. Research institutions provide experts to administrations, Congress, media organizations and future government teams.
For Ukraine, maintaining dialogue with those institutions is one way of explaining its priorities to people who shape long-term American national-security debates.
Peace negotiations were the central topic
According to the Ukrainian presidential office, Zelenskyy emphasized that talks are possible if all sides genuinely seek an end to the war. He referenced his conversation with President Donald Trump and the continuing diplomatic process.
At the same time, Ukraine linked diplomacy to stronger air defense and preparations for winter.
The logic behind negotiating while rearming
Kyiv’s position is that negotiations cannot depend on Ukraine becoming more vulnerable. Stronger air defense can reduce the ability of missile attacks to create political or humanitarian pressure during talks.
This is why Ukrainian officials increasingly present defense capability and diplomacy as parts of the same strategy rather than alternatives.
Why think tanks matter in Washington
American think tanks often develop policy proposals that later appear in congressional legislation or executive-branch strategies. Their experts also move between research organizations and government positions.
That makes the discussion relevant even though none of the participants has authority to negotiate on behalf of the United States unless formally appointed.
Analysis
The meeting demonstrates that Ukraine’s U.S. diplomacy operates on several levels simultaneously: the White House, Congress, business, diaspora organizations and policy institutions.
The advantage of this broad approach is continuity. The risk is that policy communities in Washington may have very different assumptions about how the war should end. Ukraine therefore has to distinguish between advocacy, analysis and actual U.S. government commitments.