The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday (October 16) presented his victory plan to the Ukrainian Members of Parliament and the Ukrainian society.
In his remarks, Zelenskyy said the Victory Plan will strengthen Ukraine’s positions in the quest for a just end to the war by Russia.
“The Victory Plan is a path to strengthening Ukraine. This is the kind of Ukraine's strengthening that is needed not only to defend our positions but also to build a bridge – a bridge to the second Peace Summit, which will put a fair end to this war for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.
He insisted that the plan is easy to implement because it only depends on their partners and not Russia.
During his address, he laid out some of the strategies the Victory Plan will employ towards ensuring a peaceful Ukraine.
Here is what you need to know about the plan:
The plan consists of five points and three additional “secret” points, which can only be shared with certain partners.
Inviting Ukraine to join the NATO military alliance. Zelenskyy insists NATO membership would not only boost his own country's security but that of Europe and the West as well.
Ukraine wants allies to help strengthen its defence against Russian forces by allowing them to use their long-range weapons on Russian territory. Zelensky further wants allies to allow them to continue Ukraine's military operations on Russian territory to avoid creation of the buffer zones in their territory.
He further wants allies to continue to beef up Ukraine's air defence systems to protect critical infrastructure and keep in place training programmes abroad for Ukrainian troops.
Zelensky wants the containment of Russia via a non-nuclear strategic deterrent package deployed on Ukrainian soil. He did not give any further details on this terming it a secret that will only be shared with key allies.
He called for a joint special agreement by the US and EU to protect Ukraine's critical natural resources and joint use of their economic potential. This also has a secret annex that could only be shared with allies.
“This is an agreement that will complement and strengthen the existing system of economic pressure on Russia (sanctions).”
The final point focused on post-war recovery, where he proposed replacing some US troops stationed across Europe with Ukrainian soldiers.
Zelenskyy said that after the war, his country would have one of the largest military contingents in the world.
"We envisage, replacing certain military contingents of the United States Armed Forces stationed in Europe with Ukrainian units, if our partners agree."