Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – President Zelenskiy pitches victory plan to EU, seeks NATO invitation and military support.
President Volodymyr Zelensky reached Brussels on Oct. 17 to demonstrate his five-point victory plan to the European Council and sit with the council’s president, Charles Michel. “All European leaders will hear how our positions must be supported. We must end this war fairly,” Zelensky expressed in a video message from a plane on his way to Belgium.
What is President Zelenskiy’s five-point victory plan?
The Ukrainian president reached Brussels only a day after disclosing the plan to the public during a special session in Ukraine’s parliament. He has previously pitched the agenda to the U.S., U.K., German, French, and Italian heads to drum up allied support before the pending U.S. election.
The proposal is composed of five points: an invitation to join NATO, a defence aspect, non-nuclear deterrence of Russian aggression, economic growth and collaboration, and post-war security architecture. It also concerns three classified addenda that have been shared with international partners.
How does Charles Michel view Ukraine’s path to EU membership?
“In the EU, we are on your (Ukraine’s) side for as long as it takes and whatever it takes. We know that you need more military support and more financial support,” Michel stated in comments to journalists alongside Zelensky. “Your destiny, the future of Ukraine, is within the EU,” Michel said, hailing Kyiv’s progress toward membership.
The Ukrainian president also stated he plans to examine the EU’s promised loan of 35 billion euros ($38 billion) as part of the G7 plan and the necessary support needed for the coming winter. The Ukrainian leader will then head over to the European Parliament to hold discussions with President Roberta Metsola and, later, to the NATO headquarters where a discussion of the alliance’s defence ministers is taking place over the next two days.
