Hello and welcome to Battleground with me Patrick Bishop and Saul David.

All lives this week have been on the huge diplomatic offensive, President Zelensky is mounting in the US to try and rally international support for one large push, which he says could deliver victory for Ukraine and peace sooner rather than later.

Zelensky's used the 79th gathering of the UN General Assembly to make his pitch, and has also

seen with Biden to put more flesh on the rather bare bones of a much heralded peace plan,

while trying at the same time to trump-proof crucial ongoing. American military and, of course,

diplomatic backing in the event of a Republican victory in the November presidential election.

Yes, he's been here there and everywhere, doing the rounds of the TV studios,

briefing bipartisan audiences of lawmakers and talking directly to the UN.

The message he's sending, of course, is a mixture of fear and hope.

Unless Ukraine gets the military

aid it needs, including permission to use those long-range missiles capable of striking

deep into Russia, the storm shadows and attackums, etc. Ukraine's suffering will deepen with

thousands dying this winter. But if they get what they want, he's holding out the prospect

of forcing Putin to the

negotiating table and the war ending sometime next year. It all has the feeling of an all or nothing

moment to me, Patrick, if there's to be any real movement in the war. Yes, I think you're right

there, Stoll. I mean, this is a last chance really for Zelensky to influence events before

the tectonic plates potentially start shifting with a possible Trump victory.

But he's also got a lot of distractions to contend with, hasn't he?

I mean, Zelensky's struggling to keep Ukraine high on the agenda of the world's leaders' concerns and facing, of course, very tough competition

from events in Lebanon, where it seems increasingly likely that Israel will deepen its campaign

against His Bulla and follow up the continuous and highly effective air strikes, which has to be

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