More than two and a half years after the start of the Russian invasion, Ukraine is retreating, particularly on the eastern front of Donbass, where the Russian army claims almost every day the conquest of a new village, as it has again done Thursday morning.
After having already defended his plan in Washington, London, Paris, Berlin and Rome, the Ukrainian president revealed the main points on Wednesday before Parliament in kyiv.
“We call them the Buryat battalion”: in Russia, the “participation of a second state in the war against Ukraine” at the heart of the accusations
Lifting restrictions on the use of weapons that the West supplies to Ukraine, deployment on Ukrainian territory of non-nuclear deterrent weapons… None of these requests has so far met with unanimous support from the side of the Allies.
According to Mr. Zelensky, however, discussions with EU countries were positive. “After our very frank conversations, the majority of those who spoke (at the summit of 27) did so to support the plan,” he said at a press conference, without going into details. .
Dream of joining NATO
The plan presented by Mr. Zelensky also recommends immediately sending kyiv an invitation to join NATO, the only real guarantee of security for his country, according to the Ukrainian president.
But here again, you will have to be patient. Mark Rutte thus limited himself to recalling the “irreversible” nature of Ukraine’s path towards NATO. “Ukraine will be a member of NATO,” he repeated, but if “the question is when, I cannot answer for the moment.”
The United States, where the presidential election will take place on November 5, is refusing for the moment to go further. As for Germany, its Chancellor Olaf Scholz “never said yes, and never said no”, according to Mr. Zelensky.
Concerning the Ukrainian plan, which will be “on the table” at the meeting of NATO ministers on Thursday evening, the new secretary general of the Alliance judged on Wednesday that it was sending a “strong signal”. But, he immediately added, “that doesn’t mean I can say here that I support the whole plan.”
‘It’s cruel, but effective’: Ukrainian officer explains macabre Russian strategy that appears to be working on the battlefield
The Baltic countries were more enthusiastic, calling on their partners in NATO and the EU to support this plan.
“I hope that this plan will not be just a piece of paper and that it will be followed by actions and measures,” said Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur.
“It’s an existential war. Russia is an existential threat to Europe and I hope that the member states will continue to support Ukraine,” declared Josep Borrell, the head of diplomacy of the EU.
But several other countries are more cautious, fearing an escalation with Russia or, more prosaically, for budgetary reasons. “Our hesitation is the best and most direct way to escalation,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said in Brussels on Thursday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on Wednesday to “do everything” to prevent the continuation of the conflict in Ukraine, including by talking with Russian President Vladimir Putin, however in consultation with kyiv.
For his part, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose country currently chairs the EU Council of Ministers, described the Ukrainian leader’s plan as “terrifying.” “We are losing this war, this strategy is not working, it must be changed!”, he said on his Facebook page, demanding the opening of “immediate” negotiations with Russia, where he was visited in July during a very controversial “peace mission”.
Related News :