Ukraine’s Zelenskyy To Pitch ‘Victory Plan’ To EU, NATO

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy takes his “victory plan” to the European Union and NATO on Thursday, pitching for a NATO membership invitation.

His plan also pitches for a major increase in military support for Kyiv’s campaign against Russia’s invasion.

What Is The Plan?

Zelenskyy’s plan contains requests that Ukraine’s allies have so far declined to grant.

This includes call for an invitation to join the U.S.-led NATO military alliance and permission to use Western weapons to strike deep inside Russia.

He presented the plan to Ukraine’s parliament on Wednesday at a critical time.

As Moscow’s forces advance in the east, a bleak winter of power cuts looms and a U.S. presidential election casts uncertainty over the future of Western support.

Plan Also Discussed With The U.S. President

The Ukrainian President said on Thursday that he discussed long-range weapons, delivery of aid packages and implementation of a victory plan during a phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden.

“We talked about long-range weapons, about the Ramstein meeting in a few weeks.”

In a video posted via the Telegram messaging app, Zelenskyy said, “We also talked about how our teams will work on the points of the victory plan.”

The Plan Could End The War

The Ukrainian President is fairly confident that his plan could end the war “no later than next year”.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday the plan represented “a strong signal” from Zelenskyy.

Rutt added,”That doesn’t mean that I here can say I support the whole plan. That would be a bit difficult, because there are many issues.”

NATO Secretary General Says The Plan Needs To Be Discussed In Detail

Rutte said NATO’s 32 members would have to discuss the plan in detail to understand it better.

“You will have maybe some different views on particular aspects of the plan, but that doesn’t say that we are not standing squarely behind Ukraine”, he said.

NATO Membership Call

NATO has declared that Ukraine will become a member, without saying when.

But it cannot join while at war, as this would draw the alliance directly into a conflict with Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has cited Ukraine’s potential membership of NATO as a reason for the invasion.

“We understand that NATO membership is a matter for the future, not the present,” Zelenskyy told the Ukrainian parliament.

Kyiv Must Know Its Policies Are Futile

The Kremlin said it was too early to comment in detail on the plan.

It said that Kyiv needed to “sober up” and realise the futility of the policies it was pursuing.

A”comprehensive Non-Nuclear Strategic Deterrence Package” Inside Ukraine

The plan also proposes establishing a “comprehensive non-nuclear strategic deterrence package” inside Ukraine to protect against threats from Russia

It also offers the West a role in developing Ukraine’s natural mineral resources and proposes Ukrainian troops could replace some U.S. forces in Europe.

(With inputs from Reuters)