According to the Ukrainian president, for the war to end, Ukraine and its partners must together change the circumstances so that the Russian Federation “is forced into peace.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented Wednesday for the first time in public his victory plan, which consists of five points and three secret protocols.
Mr. Zelensky said in a speech to the Ukrainian Parliament (the Rada) that Ukraine and its partners should together change the circumstances so that the war ends “by forcing the Russian Federation into peace.”
“The first (very important) point is an invitation to NATO. The first (and most important) point is an invitation to NATO. This is a certainty, the way partners see Ukraine’s place in the security architecture,” Mr. Zelensky said.
The second point of the plan concerns defense and includes a secret annex. The third point is deterrence of Russian aggression, which also contains a secret annex for the allies. The fourth point concerns Ukraine’s strategic and economic potential, with a secret annex for the allies. The fifth point concerns the post-war period.
“If Russia’s war against Ukraine ends at the height of peace and on the basis of international law, it will persuade other potential aggressors not to launch further wars.
And if Putin achieves his insane goals – geopolitical, military, ideological and economic – it will create an irresistible impression among other potential aggressors, especially in the Gulf region, the Indo-Pacific and Africa, that wars of conquest can be profitable for them too,” Mr. Zelensky said.
According to Mr. Zelensky, the second point is “the irreversible strengthening of Ukrainian defense against the aggressor.”
“It is realistic: to defend our positions on the battlefield in Ukraine and, at the same time, necessarily bring the war to the territory of Russia, so that Russians feel what war is and, despite Russian propaganda , are beginning to feel hatred towards the Kremlin. We are not naive. Ukraine does not believe, and will not believe, that most Russians will truly appreciate the depth of their state’s moral decline. But they must feel the fall of the Russian army. And it will be a loss for their war ideology,” Mr. Zelensky said.
Mykhaïlo Podoliakadvisor to the head of the presidency, had declared the day before that certain details of the plan would not be discussed publicly, in particular information on the number of weapons needed.
“This plan is the logic of this stage of the war. This is the logic that explains why there can be no compromises, no strange initiatives in this war, saying: you can stop the war without forcing Russia to do it, but simply by giving it something – that’s it. that is, inciting Russia. The president wants society to understand this,” Ukrainian media said, citing Mr. Podoliak’s statement. According to him, Ukraine’s partners must decide “whether they are all ready to capitulate.” “Ukraine will not capitulate,” he said.
Allies silent for the moment
Earlier this past week and over the weekend, the Ukrainian president presented this plan to his Western allies, who were not very enthusiastic.
The “victory plan”, which sets out the conditions under which Ukraine would be prepared to negotiate peace, is seen by many as Ukraine’s last resort to strengthen its position in any future ceasefire negotiations. fire with Russia.
However, no country has so far approved or publicly commented on this plan. Several European leaders learned of Mr. Zelensky’s proposals during his tour of European capitals, from London to Berlin.
None of them have indicated they would support the plan, with some expressing concern about the tight deadline set by Mr. Zelensky, who gave allies only three months to adopt the main tenets of the plan by the end of the month of September.
US President Joe Biden, to whom Mr Zelensky first presented the plan during a US tour, has also not given much public encouragement.
Although the Ukrainian leader has remained silent on the details of the plan, some aspects of it have been revealed.
Make Ukraine a member of NATO, allow the country to use long-range Western weapons to strike inside Russia, provide resources to strengthen Ukraine’s air and other defenses, and intensifying sanctions against Russia are all central elements of the plan.
Mr Zelensky said the plan was necessary to enable Ukraine to begin the peace negotiation process.
The leader wants to put the ‘victory plan’ in place before a new US president is sworn in next year, following remarks by presidential candidate Donald Trump that he would cut or significantly reduce funding of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian leader’s presentation of the plan to the country’s parliament, announced Monday by presidential adviser Serhii Leshchenko, comes as the country’s military suffers heavy losses along its eastern front and Russian forces close in on the city from Pokrovsk, in the east of the country.
Kyiv has long been outnumbered by Moscow, with limited ammunition stocks and difficulty mobilizing troops to participate in the war.
Ukrainian officials were awaiting feedback from Western allies during a meeting of Ukraine’s defense contact group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, in which defense officials from more than 50 partner nations come together to coordinate arms assistance for the war. Scheduled for last weekend, the summit was postponed after Mr Biden canceled his participation due to Hurricane Milton hitting the United States
Although the United States has been one of Kyiv’s main supporters, Joe Biden has been less supportive of using long-range weapons to strike Russia, fearing a possible escalation.
Many expect Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris to continue Mr. Biden’s policies and maintain the status quo. Under Biden, U.S. aid to Kyiv, while substantial, has always arrived too late to make a significant difference for Ukrainian forces.
Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump has said he will end the war, although he has not specified how.
Meanwhile, Brazil and China have proposed other peace plans that Mr. Zelensky has rejected, saying they would only halt the war and give Moscow time to consolidate its military and defense industry. defense, which were undermined.