(Adnkronos) – Invitation to join NATO, sending weapons without restrictions on use, deterrence, strategic economic potential and post-war prospects. These are the 5 points of the ‘Plan for Victory’ presented by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Parliament, which should lead to the resolution of the conflict “no later than next year” and which also contains three secret annexes. The project will also be a topic at the NATO defence ministers’ summit to be held in Brussels in the next two days, with Secretary General Mark Rutte calling Kiev’s entry into the organisation “irreversible”.
Here are the five points of the plan:
1. Invitation to join NATO. The first essential point in completing the plan calls for an invitation from the Alliance. Although actual membership is still a long way off, an invitation to join would send a strong signal to Russia and Vladimir Putin. “An invitation is a strong decision that only requires determination,” the Ukrainian president said.
2. Sending weapons without restrictions on their use. Zelensky has drawn up a list of weapons needed to defend itself and to bring ‘the war closer to home for the Kremlin’. He also requested training and air defence capabilities to deter Russian attacks, real-time satellite data from allies, an end to all restrictions on the use of donated weapons to strike inside Russia, and help from allies to shoot down missiles and drones over Ukrainian territory. Many of these steps have been blocked by Western fears of crossing the ‘red lines’ of direct involvement in the war.
3. Deterrence. The plan then envisages deploying on its territory a complete package of non-nuclear strategic deterrence, sufficient to protect Ukraine from any military threat from Russia. Faced with this, Moscow should agree to take part in an ‘honest’ diplomatic process for a just end to the war, or it will find itself unable to continue fighting thanks to the aid provided to Ukraine. The specific weapons were not revealed by Zelensky in his speech to Parliament, but he did say that the leaders of the United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom are aware of Kiev’s requests.
4. Strategic economic potential. Ukraine proposes to partners in the European Union and the United States to sign a special agreement on the common use of critical resources owned by Ukraine, such as lithium, gas and titanium, and to produce energy together in the future.
5. Post-war prospects. Finally, Zelensky argues that with the end of the war he will be able to participate in improving European security, thanks to the contribution of his highly skilled and combat-hardened armed forces. “If the partners agree, we plan to replace some military contingents of US armed forces stationed in Europe with Ukrainian units after the war,” the president said. “Ukrainians have shown that they can be a force that Russian evil cannot overcome.”
