Zelenskyy finally gets Washington reading from the same playbook

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pulled off a feat Tuesday that seemed impossible a year ago: convincing Washington that Kyiv can win the war. Unlike Zelenskyy's tortured Oval Office visit in February 2025, he left a meeting with President Donald Trump in high spirits. And he capped off the trip with another victory, watching the Senate overwhelmingly vote to advance new sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil. It was a high note in a day that proved a remarkable turnabout from Zelenskyy's previous disastrous visit. The vote -- which the Ukrainian leader witnessed from the gallery inside the Senate chamber -- puts Congress one step closer to achieving a top priority for Zelenskyy and is the latest signal that Kyiv's fortunes aren't just improving on the battlefield. "The whole program here is to bring Putin to the negotiating table," Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said following a meeting with the Ukrainian president, senators and some House lawmakers. "Zelenskyy believed that Putin would think a little bit more about trying to negotiate a settlement if the sanctions were in place and actually creating more irritation and, as he put it, I believe, 'anger' with the war with the Russian people." Zelenskyy, in the bipartisan meeting ahead of the vote, emphasized the impact sanctions could have on the course of the war. He also underscored several continued requests, according to senators who attended, including licensing to produce Patriot missile defense batteries, securing supplies of PAC-3 interceptors used in the Patriot system and sustained access to the Starlink satellite service to assist targeting for long-range attacks. The requests for military hardware and targeting assistance, along with sanctions on Moscow, mirror Zelenskyy's pitch to lawmakers on the sidelines of the NATO summit three weeks ago, Rounds said.