Ukraine has said it will face an “extremely difficult” position in its war with Russia if western allies do not back its so-called victory plan, and warned that 10,000 North Korean soldiers were preparing to join Moscow’s invasion force.
Speaking in Brussels after presenting EU leaders with his plan to dramatically strengthen Ukraine and force Russia to the negotiating table, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy also said he told former US president Donald Trump last month that his country had chosen to seek Nato membership to safeguard its security over seeking to reacquire nuclear weapons.
Kyiv’s “victory plan” calls on allies to give it an immediate Nato membership invitation, ramp up the flow of weapons and military co-operation, and allow Ukraine to use western-supplied long-range missiles to strike deep in Russian territory.
Mr Zelenskiy told EU leaders that Russian president Vladimir Putin “must see that his geopolitical calculations are worthless ... Putin must respect our strength, not have the free world tremble at his threats”.
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“We need to strengthen now. The victory plan is designed for this moment. And I urge all of you to help make it happen. If we start now and follow the victory plan, we can end this war no later than next year,” he added.
Mr Zelenskiy said “an immediate invitation to Ukraine to join Nato would be decisive” in altering Russia’s calculations, even though he acknowledged that “of course, membership would follow later”.
“An invitation now with membership later will have no political cost – it’s a strong decision that requires nothing but determination ... An invitation will strengthen our diplomatic stance. And this will be one of the main arguments to stop the war.”
Mr Zelenskiy said he had discussed Kyiv’s Nato membership request with Donald Trump when he met the Republican presidential candidate last month, and reminded him that Ukraine had given up its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal in the 1990s in exchange for security guarantees from western powers and Russia that proved to be worthless.
“Among all these great powers, all the nuclear nations, which one has suffered? Was it all of them? No, only Ukraine. Who gave up nuclear weapons? Was it all of them? Only Ukraine. Who is at war today? Ukraine,” he said.
He recalled telling Mr Trump: “We’ve found ourselves in this situation, so what’s the way out? Either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons, and then it will be our defence, or we need to have some kind of alliance. Apart from Nato, we don’t know any effective alliances today.
“Nato countries are not at war. In Nato countries, everyone is alive, thank God. And that is why we are choosing Nato, not nuclear weapons,” he added.
There has been no indication that Washington or other western capitals will grant Ukraine’s requests, after they repeatedly emphasised the need to avoid “escalation” with Moscow and the risk of a direct clash between Nato and Russia.
Mr Zelenskiy claimed that Kremlin ally North Korea was preparing “about 10,000 soldiers ... to send to fight against us” to help fill a “gap” in Russia’s depleted army. There were also signs that China was supporting Russia and helping Moscow “drag out this war”, he added.
Russian troops continue to grind forward in eastern Ukraine and pummel Ukrainian military positions, towns, cities and critical infrastructure with guided bombs weighing up to three tonnes, ballistic and cruise missiles and explosive drones.
The Kremlin says there can be no talk of peace until Ukraine accepts the permanent Russian takeover of five of its regions and gives up its Nato membership hopes forever.
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