Zelenskyy Unveils Ukraine's 'Victory Plan'

Facts

• Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday presented his long-awaited 'victory plan' — his vision for pressuring Russia into seeking negotiations to end the war on terms favorable to his country.^[1][2]
• Since first speaking of a 'victory plan' in August, Zelenskyy has remained publicly tight-lipped about it but briefed it to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken when the latter visited Kyiv in September. Zelenskyy went on to brief further Biden admin. officials on the plans during a visit to the US later in the month.^[2][3]
• Last week, Zelenskyy proceeded to take the plan on a tour of European capitals including London, Paris, and Rome. Before departing, Zelenskyy revealed only that 'the first step of the plan focuses on whether Ukraine will get a seat in NATO.'^[4]
• That was confirmed as Zelenskyy unveiled the 'victory plan' at greater length in an address to the country's parliament on Wednesday. 'The first point (and a very important one) is an invitation to NATO,' the Ukrainian leader said. 'Right now. It is a determination of how the partners see Ukraine's place in the security architecture.'^[1]
• However, Western allies have been reticent about Ukraine's immediate entry into NATO, particularly while the country is still at war — potentially dragging the whole alliance into the conflict. None of Ukraine's partners have yet to publicly back Zelenskyy's vision.^[5]
• In his address to lawmakers, Zelenskyy also ruled out ceding territory to Russia. Russia has insisted that it maintains control of territory captured in the war and immediately dismissed Zelenskyy's plan on Wednesday. 'The only peace plan there can be is for the Kyiv regime to realize the futility of the policy it is pursuing and understand the need to sober up,' stated Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.^[6]

Sources: ^[1]Ukrainska Pravda, ^[2]www.euractiv.com, ^[3]Associated Press, ^[4]Verity, ^[5]ABC News and ^[6]Alarabiya.

Narratives

• Pro-Ukraine narrative, as provided by Ukrainska Pravda. If Ukraine becomes a properly confirmed member of NATO, it will show Russian Pres. Putin that he will be lost from a geopolitical point of view. As Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskyy said, Russia must recognize that Europe has borders and independent states, and everyone has the right to choose their own future.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by TASS. Dragging Ukraine into the NATO military alliance is what started this whole conflict in the first place — particularly NATO's cultivation of Ukrainian nationalism that resulted in a violation of rights against the country's Russian-speaking citizens. Without eliminating the root cause of the conflict, it's impossible to achieve a fair settlement.

Predictions