NATO should admit Ukraine immediately to help end Russia’s invasion of the country, said Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine immediately entering the western alliance was the linchpin for Zelensky’s so-called “Victory Plan”, which he has presented to western leaders in recent weeks.
While the plan was previously a closely guarded secret, Zelensky has disclosed most of its content in a speech to the Ukrainian parliament.
The plan centred around five main aspects, said the Kyiv Independent.
Along with an immediate invitation for Ukraine to join NATO, the plan also included elements of strengthening the nation’s defence, deterring Russian aggression, economic growth and cooperation with the west, and devising a post-war security architecture.
Zelensky in particular insisted his country should be permitted to use Western weapons to strike deep into Russia. He also argued his country should launch more offensives against the Russian mainland.
He wanted Ukraine’s allies also to provide the country with a “comprehensive non-nuclear strategic deterrence package on its territory”, with details of what this would entail kept secret.
There were three additional “addenda” points to the plan the President also reportedly chose to keep under wraps.
“If the plan is supported, we can end the war no later than next year,” Zelensky told the parliament.
He added that while it was agreed that Ukraine’s entry into NATO was “a matter of the future, not the present”, fast-tracking the entry would undermine Moscow’s “geopolitical calculations”.
“We are a democratic nation that has proven that it can protect the Euro-Atlantic and our own way of life,” he said.
Western support for Ukraine was more important than ever, Zelensky warned. Successfully defending Ukraine would deter Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “coalition of criminals” from other attacks elsewhere.
“If Putin achieves his insane geopolitical, military, ideological, and economic goals, it will create an overwhelming impression for other potential aggressors, particularly in the Gulf region, the Indo-Pacific region, and Africa, that wars of aggression can be profitable for them as well,” he warned.
He particularly highlighted North Korea’s growing involvement, alongside Iran and China, and warned those countries’ presence in Ukraine posed a growing threat to international stability.
Ukraine is willing to surrender some of its territory to Russia if it means ending Moscow’s invasion, a major news website in Germany has reported. https://t.co/AH3mjN6lTo
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 14, 2024
