Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has presented his previously unpublished “victory plan” in the defensive war against Russia and has ruled out any renunciation of Ukrainian territories in it. A solution to ending the war cannot “consist in a trade with Ukrainian territory or with its sovereignty,” Zelensky said. In addition to giving up territory in favor of Russia, he also ruled out “freezing” the conflict. In his speech, Zelensky also spoke out in favor of stationing “a comprehensive package of non-nuclear strategic deterrent measures” on Ukrainian territory after the end of the war in order to protect Ukraine from military threats from Russia in the future.
He called on Western allies to invite his country to join NATO “now.” Russia was only able to start the war against Ukraine and thereby undermine European security because Kiev is not a member of the Western military alliance. The plan is about “strengthening our country and our positions,” said Zelensky. The goal is to be “strong enough to end the war.” “Russia must lose the war against Ukraine,” emphasized the Ukrainian president. Russia must be persuaded to “participate in a peace summit and be ready to end the war.” In his speech, Zelensky once again called on Ukraine’s allies to lift restrictions on the use of longer-range weapons in attacks on Russian-occupied territories and targets in Russia.
Russia immediately rejected Zelensky’s “victory plan.” “The only peace plan that can exist is for the Kiev regime to recognize the futility of its policies and understand that it needs to sober up,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Zelensky’s plan meant “trouble for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.” The Ukrainian president is pushing NATO member states into a “direct conflict” with Russia. As a condition for peace talks, Moscow is demanding that Kiev give up large areas in the east and south of Ukraine that are currently occupied by Russian troops.
In a government statement on Wednesday, Chancellor Scholz spoke out in favor of diplomatic talks involving Russia to end the war. The time has now come “when, in addition to clearly supporting Ukraine, we must also do everything we can to figure out how we can ensure that this war does not go on forever,” he said. Scholz also appeared open to direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, there should “never be decisions made over the heads of Ukraine”. Talks with Putin would have to be conducted in “coordination with our closest partners”.
