Un months after visiting the United States, Volodymyr Zelensky presents his “victory plan” to prevail against Russia to NATO defense ministers this Thursday, October 17. The Ukrainian president asks in particular to be able to use Western weapons without restriction, to deploy deterrent weapons on the soil of his country and above all to join the North Atlantic alliance.
The leader is expected this Thursday in Brussels to present his plan to the 27 leaders of the European Union and the 32 NATO defense ministers at a time when his country is in a difficult situation on the battlefield.
Here is what the plan in question contains, which includes five points and three annexes, unveiled on Wednesday by Zelensky to Ukrainian parliamentarians, after having already presented his plan to American, British, French, German and Italian leaders.
Join NATO
The first point is to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), although membership itself may happen later. “It is a question of determining how the partners see Ukraine’s place in the security architecture,” the leader told Ukrainian elected officials.
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Strengthen the country’s defense
The second part of the plan concerns “strengthening Ukrainian defense and redirecting the war towards the territory of Russia”. Wednesday, the one who had been named personality of the year by the magazine Time in 2022 thus called for the lifting of “restrictions on the use of long-range weapons throughout the Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia and on Russian territory”, as well as the continuation of Western aid to train and equip “reserve brigades of the Ukrainian armed forces”. Recently, the head of state complained about the slow delivery time.
Deterrence
Third point: the deployment of a “comprehensive set of non-nuclear deterrents to deter any further Russian aggression.”
Investments in Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky’s fourth priority concerns the exploitation of Ukraine’s “strategic and economic potential” by inviting Westerners to invest in Ukraine for the production of equipment.
Feedback on experience
Finally, the final part of the plan promotes “the Ukrainian experience”, which should “be used for the entire Alliance and the defense of Europe”.
The great American unknown
The presentation of this plan comes a few weeks before the American presidential election. The vote is highly strategic for Ukraine, since the support of the United States – unwavering under the administration of Joe Biden – could come to a sudden halt if Donald Trump, hostile to his country’s financial effort, makes his return at the White House. On Wednesday, Joe Biden again announced the sending of $425 million in aid to Ukraine to strengthen its air defense.
Furthermore, several Western leaders are due to meet in Berlin on Friday October 18 to discuss Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will receive Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, as well as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Zelensky’s victory plan obviously did not go unnoticed by the Kremlin, which responded sharply to Volodymyr Zelensky’s project: “The only peace plan that can be is the understanding by the kyiv regime that its politics is without perspective and it is necessary to wake up,” responded Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov.
