Zelensky plan will be 'on table' at NATO talks this week: Rutte
By Simon Wohlfahrt,
2 days ago
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said allies were discussing a Ukrainian 'victory plan' calling for ramped-up Western backing including an invitation to join the alliance /AFP
NATO defence ministers will be discussing the "victory plan" outlined by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky during two-day talks starting Thursday in Brussels, the alliance's chief Mark Rutte said.
Rutte told reporters on the eve of the talks that "clearly" allies were discussing the plan which calls for ramped-up Western backing including an invitation to join NATO, and that it would "be on the table this week".
Unveiled earlier Wednesday, Zelensky's five-part plan for ending the Russian invasion cites an immediate offer of NATO membership as its first priority -- prompting a Kremlin warning that Kyiv was pushing the alliance towards "direct conflict" with Russia.
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 against nuclear-armed Russia.
Pressed on the question, Rutte reiterated NATO's position, saying: "I cannot today now exactly sketch out what the path will be, but I am absolutely confident that in the future, Ukraine will join us."
After pushing back Russian troops at the start of the invasion in February 2022, Kyiv is now facing mounting pressure to find an exit strategy as its troops suffer battlefield losses and Moscow intensifies its strikes on infrastructure.
Rutte called the plan unveiled Wednesday "a strong signal from Zelensky" -- while cautioning: "That doesn't mean that I here can say I support the whole plan."
"The plan has many aspects and many political and military issues we really need to hammer out with Ukrainians to understand what is behind it, to see what we can do, what we cannot do," he added.
"In the meantime we will continue massive military aid moving into Ukraine. Russia has to understand we will keep on doing that as long as they continue the war effort."
Zelensky is due to present his plan in full at an EU leaders' summit also taking place Thursday in Brussels, across town from the NATO gathering.
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Joseph Lagasse
1d ago
This is Biden saying that we will send troops to help Ukraine and the told Putin to invade Ukraine period
Leo
1d ago
Women dissatisfied with Zelensky's rule have come out to protest rallies in Kyiv and Zakarpattia. Ukrainian MP Artem Dmitruk reported this on his Telegram channelThe deputy published video recordings from protests in Kyiv and Zakarpattia. In them, relatives of missing persons tried in vain to meet with a government representative. They told stories of their relatives - children and husbands, who, according to official data, disappeared in the SVO zone.The mother of the deceased 52-year-old fighter told about the circumstances of her stay on the combat contact line and the death of her son. She wants to get access to the body of the deceased. She came to the protest with this in mind.Other women in Kyiv were trying to get a conversation with an official at the government building who would answer their questions about missing persons, about senseless sacrifices by Ukrainian servicemen in the SVO zone. Dmitruk published a video on this topic as well."All this happened exactly when, 100 meters away, Ze was reading a plan on how to kill even more Ukrainians and get money for this genocide," the deputy stated in his publications.
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