President Zelensky is being left out in the cold as the West turns its attention to Israel - Patrick Mercer

Now, if it weren’t for the US election next month things might be different, but a clear cut Israeli victory will be interpreted as a huge win for President Biden in his final weeks in the White House, partly atoning for his disastrous handling of Afghanistan.

All this, of course, leaves Ukraine and her President looking like a bit of a sideshow. With all US eyes on the Middle East, Kiev must feel terribly abandoned and that’s why Volodymyr Zelensky, realising that the window is closing on his opportunity to focus Western interest on his own country’s dilemma, has just visited New York and presented his ‘Victory Plan’ to Ukraine’s most important ally.

The plan is complex and consists of two parts: the first is what Mr Zelensky wants, the second is what he’ll do should the first plan not be accepted. To boil ‘Plan A’ down: NATO membership must be granted to Ukraine imminently; long range Western weapons must be permitted to be fired deep into Russia and another financial package must be donated in order to keep Ukraine in the game.

This, President Zelensky calculates, will bring Russia to the negotiating table in short order, most especially the prospect of all the NATO nations guaranteeing Kiev’s safety as a fellow member of their alliance.

Meanwhile, ‘Plan B’ is rather stark. Should NATO membership not be granted, then Ukraine would carry on fighting in much the same circumstances in which she finds herself at the moment and, it’s tacitly accepted, be defeated with all the calamitous repercussions for the West that that would involve.

Now, if this sounds like brinkmanship, it is. Time’s running short for Mr Zelensky and he had to do something that would produce the solution he wanted: the trouble is, it didn’t work. Ukraine’s president met with Kamala Harris who was supportive but non-committal, whilst Donald Trump was warm towards him but also said how well he got on with President Putin - which was exactly what Mr Zelensky didn’t want to hear.

Although it’s probably Joe Biden’s swan song, the Ukrainian must have been hoping that the US President’s final act in office would be some thumping endorsement of Ukraine’s speedy membership of NATO and immediate permission for long range weapons to be used. Neither happened, though.

There was much fobbing off of the missile question with suggestions that permission might be allowed soon - but not yet - whilst the NATO issue was once more kicked down the road.

All of this looks like terrible indecision and lack of focus by America. But, Biden’s soon to be ended power is the meat in the sandwich between a militant Israel and the timing of the election. If the White House backs Tel Aviv wholeheartedly and victory is guaranteed, that will be an important legacy for Biden and a huge filip for Harris, but America simply doesn’t have the time or the resources to back Ukraine simultaneously.

In parallel, the Kremlin has plainly stated its stance on Western missiles: if they’re used against Old Russia there will be bloody retaliation not against Ukraine, but against the countries who supplied them. Now, there are pundits who suggest that Russia’s ultimata are usually not worth the paper they’re written on, but the Pentagon doesn’t agree.

Then there’s the whole question of NATO membership. If Ukraine’s accepted into the club, other nations would have to honour the mutual defence arrangements spelt out in Article 5. In other words, admit Ukraine and almost immediately young Americans will die and a Third World War will probably be sparked. Add to this, Mr Putin has just repeated the fact that he will not negotiate, especially since Ukrainian troops have burst into old Russian near Kursk.

Of course, this amounts to a huge crisis. Victory Plan or not, Ukraine is just going to have to be shelved whilst Israel gets the full glare of the Democrats’ attention.

Well, where does that leave our ally, Kiev? Make no mistake, August’s Kursk ‘invasion’ has gone terribly wrong with the capable mechanised brigades now being withdrawn and replaced by Ukrainian ‘territorial defence’ units made up of elderly, pressed men.

Similarly, ignore the nonsense that the situation on the front lines is stalemated: it’s not. Russian troops are advancing steadily and lethally across the whole theatre with several, major fortress towns in imminent danger of capture.

I think there’s only one responsible course of action for Ukraine: pull out of Kursk, abandon the Donbas, write off the Crimea and dig in on the western bank of the Dneiper. This would be bitter medicine for Ukraine, but impossible for Russia to assault without massive casualties. That might, just might, get Russia to make a deal.

Patrick Mercer is a former MP for Newark and Army colonel.