LIVE – Ukraine: Zelensky presents his “victory plan”, immediately rejected by the Kremlin

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz calls for “doing everything” to prevent the continuation of the conflict in Ukraine, including talking with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in consultation with kyiv and that country’s allies.

The time has come “for us to do everything – in addition to clearly supporting Ukraine – to find a way to prevent this war from continuing”, declared the Chancellor before the deputies of the Bundestag. “It is right that if we are asked, we also talk about it with the Russian president”, without taking decisions “over the head of Ukraine and never without consultation with our closest partners”, he said. -he added.

A 26-year-old Ukrainian national was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison in Poland for “inciting spying” on Ukraine, the spokesperson for the Polish special services said on Wednesday.

Arrested on March 9, Oleksandr D. “encouraged” a Polish citizen to “act in favor of the intelligence services of a third country” and “to the detriment of the Republic of Poland”, wrote Jacek Dobrzynski in a press release. The name of the “third country” has not been revealed.

This activity was to consist of sharing “photos of military vehicles, intended to help Ukraine and which crossed the border between Poland and Ukraine”, he added. In exchange for the information provided, Oleksandr D. offered a payment of 15,000 euros, said the spokesperson, who did not specify whether the Pole had accepted the offer.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday urged his Western allies to invite kyiv to join NATO as part of his “victory plan” to end the Russian invasion.

“The first point is an invitation from NATO, from now on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin must see that his geopolitical calculations are losing,” declared Mr. Zelensky during a speech before the Ukrainian Parliament, while Russia launched its invasion in February 2022 in particular to prevent a rapprochement between kyiv and the Atlantic Alliance.

Russia claimed Wednesday the capture of two new villages in eastern Ukraine, a region where its forces have been advancing rapidly for several weeks.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a press release that it had conquered the village of Nevské in the Luhansk region, as well as the village of Krasniï Yar, located a dozen kilometers from Pokrovsk, a strategic node for Ukrainian forces.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Wednesday that he would go to the EU summit on Thursday to present his victory plan, following the invitation of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.

“Tomorrow I will publicly present the victory plan at a meeting of the European Council,” Mr Zelensky said in a speech to the Ukrainian Parliament in kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky advocated the deployment of non-nuclear deterrents in his country, in a speech to MPs presenting his “victory plan” against Russia.

“Ukraine proposes to deploy on its territory a comprehensive set of non-nuclear strategic deterrent measures, which will be sufficient to protect Ukraine from any military threat from Russia,” he said, specifying that this point was detailed in a “secret annex” to his victory plan and had been presented to the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany.

The Kremlin rejects the victory plan presented by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before Parliament in kyiv, calling on Ukraine to “wake up”.

“The only peace plan that can be is the understanding by the kyiv regime that its policy is without perspective and that it is necessary to wake up,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry told reporters. Peskov.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the West to lift restrictions on the use of long-range weapons against Russia, as he presented his “victory plan”.

He called for “partners to lift restrictions on the use of long-range weapons throughout the territory of Ukraine occupied by Russia and on Russian territory”, as well as continued aid for “the “equipment of the reserve brigades of the Ukrainian armed forces”.

Volodymyr Zelensky urges NATO to invite Ukraine, a “fundamental” element according to him to win the war against Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rules out ceding territory to Russia or accepting a freeze on the front line, saying the Kremlin must lose the war launched in February 2022.

“Russia must lose the war against Ukraine. There can be no freezing of the front. There can be no exchange regarding Ukraine’s territory or its sovereignty,” he told the audience. MEPs, adding that Ukraine and its allies must “force Russia to attend a peace summit and be ready to end the war.”

In his presentation of the “victory plan”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced the support of China, North Korea and Iran for Russia’s war effort.

“The coalition of criminals, with Putin, now includes North Korea. Everyone sees the Iranian regime’s assistance to Putin. The same goes for China’s cooperation with Russia,” denounced Mr. Zelensky .

President Volodymyr Zelensky is currently unveiling, in a speech to the Ukrainian Parliament, his “victory plan” after having approached his Western allies to convince them to help him defeat Russia.

“It is for all of us, Ukrainians, that the victory plan was prepared,” the head of state declared before the deputies, according to a video (new window) broadcast on the presidency’s Facebook account.

Foreign Minister Sébastien Lecornu announces the upcoming delivery to Ukraine of new drones designed in France.

“Successful testing of the first French remotely operated munition – also called kamikaze drone -. Reconquest of sovereignty in this key segment for our armies, in less than two years. Deliveries to Ukraine and our forces in the coming weeks”, he wrote on (new window).

The southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, which is under intense Russian bombardment, is without electricity due to infrastructure repairs, regional authorities said. The state of the electricity network, decimated by Russian strikes, worries the Ukrainian population as winter approaches, fearing harsh months without heat or light.

“Currently, the neighboring region is repairing the electricity networks that supply Kherson and part of our region. Engineers assure us that they will restore electricity to the city within a few hours,” Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram .

Power was also cut in parts of the neighboring Mykolaiv region, where “many people do not have electricity”, according to regional governor Vitaliï Kim.

European Council President Charles Michel announced that he had invited Volodymyr Zelensky to present his “victory plan” for defeating Russia at an EU summit this week. Ukraine’s president is seeking support from kyiv’s Western allies as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its third year.

On social networks, Charles Michel said he had invited Volodymyr Zelensky “to the European Council summit on Thursday October 17 to take stock of the latest developments in Russia’s war against Ukraine and present his plan for victory.”

Military support for kyiv and the strengthening of Ukraine’s already battered energy sector are among the topics on the agenda of the meeting of leaders of the 27 countries of the European Union, which will be held on Thursday in Brussels.

Here is an update on the situation on Wednesday October 16:

– One person was killed and 16 others injured in a series of Russian bombings, which hit the southern city of Mykolaiv, overnight from Monday to Tuesday, Ukrainian emergency services announced.

– A father, separated from his daughter for a drawing denouncing the Russian offensive in Ukraine and sentenced to one year and ten months in a camp for “discrediting” the Russian army, was released after serving his sentence, his lawyer told AFP. He recounted his conditions of detention (new window)separated from his daughter.

– France will organize tomorrow, in Paris, a ministerial conference on nuclear security and safety in Ukraine.

Hello everyone and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the war in Ukraine.