Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talks to journalists during a press conference at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, October 17, 2024. OMAR HAVANA / AP
President Volodymyr Zelensky told allies on Thursday, October 17, that Ukraine must be in a position of strength before any peace talks with Russia, as he explained his “victory plan” to EU leaders and NATO defense chiefs in Brussels.
More than two and a half years into the war, Kyiv is slowly but steadily losing new territory in its eastern Donbas region and under mounting pressure to forge an exit strategy – which it says must start with ramped-up Western support.
“Ukraine is ready for real diplomacy, but for it, we must be strong,” Zelensky said as he headed into talks with the EU’s 27 leaders. “A forcefully imposed truce instead of fair peace never provided security.” “Russia will resort to diplomacy only when it sees that it cannot achieve anything by force,” Zelensky added. “This is the plan. This is exactly what’s needed, and we must create the right conditions to end this war.”
The Kremlin meanwhile repeated its warning that Ukraine’s plan amounted to an attempt to “directly involve NATO in the conflict,” warning of “heavy consequences.”
‘Reinforcing Ukraine is reinforcing ourselves’
After the EU summit, Zelensky was to join defense ministers for the first of two days of talks between NATO’s 32 member states, holding a joint press conference with alliance chief Mark Rutte. While calling it a “strong signal,” the NATO secretary general cautioned ahead of time he was not endorsing Zelensky’s “whole plan” – which calls first and foremost for an immediate invitation to join the US-led alliance, a plea widely seen as unrealistic.
Zelensky’s blueprint also rejects any territorial concessions, calls for Western allies to lift restrictions on using donated long-range weapons to target Russian military sites and suggests deploying a “non-nuclear strategic deterrence package” on Ukrainian territory.
The Ukrainian leader has traveled in recent weeks to Washington, Paris, Berlin, Rome and London to defend his plan – unveiled to Ukrainian lawmakers Wednesday – but it has yet to earn backing from Western capitals.
Addressing reporters after the summit, European Council president Charles Michel said Zelensky’s “plan makes it clear what material and finance is needed, and rapidly.” “We are serious in our intent to reinforce Ukraine, because reinforcing Ukraine is reinforcing ourselves,” he said.
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The EU recently approved loaning Ukraine up to €35 billion ($38 billion) backed by frozen Russian assets – part of a bigger $50 billion initiative agreed by G7 powers in June. Yet while the EU leaders’ summit conclusions reiterated their “unwavering commitment” to support Ukraine militarily and economically for “as long as it takes” – there was no explicit mention of Zelensky’s proposal.
There were dissenting voices too. Hungary’s Moscow-friendly Prime Minister Viktor Orban posted on Facebook that Zelensky’s roadmap was “beyond terrifying,” urging France and Germany “on behalf of the entire European Union, to start negotiations with the Russians as soon as possible.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had called ahead of the talks to “do everything” to end the war – potentially including talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
‘Position of strength’
NATO countries have declared Ukraine to be on an “irreversible path” to membership. But the United States and Germany have led opposition to immediate entry, believing it would effectively put the alliance at war with nuclear-armed Russia. Rutte reiterated the alliance line on Thursday, saying only that “Ukraine will be a member of NATO in the future.”
The secretary-general stuck to the NATO message, saying: “I look forward to the day that Ukraine is here as a member of this alliance, and until then, we will continue to do all that we can to assure Ukraine prevails.”
Washington’s ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith, was blunter ahead of the Brussels talks, saying: “We are not at the point right now where the alliance is talking about issuing an invitation in the short term.”
Some allies, however, gave it a warm welcome. “We want this plan to succeed,” said British Defence Secretary John Healey. “We will work with Ukraine and encourage others to work with Ukraine in order that they do.”
The US position is unlikely to shift whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris wins the White House on November 5 – though there are fears a second Trump term could upend the support Ukraine receives from NATO’s biggest power. Insiders agree the elephant in the room at the NATO talks will be the contest playing out across the Atlantic, with one diplomat saying the Alliance was in “waiting mode.”
But Ukraine’s allies are well aware that time is of the essence, with the outlook on the battlefield bleak. Rutte said NATO’s focus remained on keeping “massive military aid moving into Ukraine” in order “to make sure that if ever one day Zelensky and his team decide to discuss with Russia how to end this, that he will do this from a position of strength.”
But despite Ukraine’s plea for stepped-up air defense systems – as Russian forces pound its cities and infrastructure – no new announcements were expected from NATO this week.
Some at NATO argue the setbacks inflicted on Russian President Vladimir Putin since the invasion are already sufficient to justify seeking a negotiated outcome – rather than letting the war drag on indefinitely. On the eve of the NATO meeting, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for exploring ways to end the war – potentially including talks with Putin.
North Korean soldiers
On Thursday, Zelensky also said he had intelligence reports that North Korea was training 10,000 soldiers to support Russia in its fight against Kyiv.
“They are preparing on their land, 10,000 soldiers, but they didn’t move them already to Ukraine or to Russia,” Zelensky said after meeting NATO defense ministers.
He made the claim earlier Thursday after meeting EU leaders in Brussels – without initially making clear where they were being trained. Speaking alongside NATO chief Mark Rutte, Zelensky said there were already an unspecified number of “tactical personnel” and “officers” from North Korea in “occupied” Ukrainian territory held by Russia.
Rutte told their press conference that the alliance had “no evidence that North Korean soldiers are involved in the fight, but we do know that North Korea is supporting Russia.”
Western officials said they were treating the reports with caution at this stage. “We are tracking the possible deployment of North Korean troops to Russia,” one official told reporters.
Ahead of a meeting with European leaders in Berlin to discuss Ukraine, the White House said US President Joe Biden announced a $425 million arms package for Kyiv Wednesday in a call with Zelensky.
The package includes air defense and armored vehicles, it said in a readout of the call, adding that Biden had briefed Zelensky “on his efforts to surge security assistance to Ukraine over the remainder of his term in office.”