Kiev's "victory plan"

Zelensky presents “victory plan” in parliament

The national anthem played before Zelensky's speech.

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented his previously unpublished "victory plan" in the defense war against Russia in parliament on Wednesday.

A central point is the invitation from NATO for Ukraine to join, "and now", demanded Selensky in a speech to MPs in Kiev. Russia had undermined European security with its war against Ukraine because Kiev was not a member of the Western military alliance.

The plan is about "strengthening our country and our positions", Selensky explained. The aim is to be "strong enough to end the war". Selensky ruled out ceding Ukrainian territories to Russia. "Russia must lose the war against Ukraine", emphasized the Ukrainian President. Russia must be persuaded to "take part in a peace summit and be prepared to end the war".

Selensky speaks to parliament.

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Zelensky also spoke out in favor of "a comprehensive package of non-nuclear strategic deterrence measures" on Ukrainian territory "to protect Ukraine from any military threat from Russia". During visits to Berlin, London, Paris and Rome last week, Zelensky appealed for further support for the fight against the Russian invasion forces.

Kiev wants to fire on targets in Russia
In view of the superior Russian air force, Ukraine is calling in particular for more fighter jets and better air defense. In his speech in parliament, Zelensky called on Ukraine's allies to "lift the restrictions on the use of long-range weapons" in attacks on Russian-occupied territories and targets in Russia.

As part of his "victory plan", Zelensky offered the Western allies access to his country's valuable raw materials. He cited uranium, titanium, lithium and graphite as examples. Ukraine has valuable raw materials "worth trillions of US dollars". The question was whether these resources would fall to Russia and its allies in global competition or remain with Ukraine and - as he said - the democratic world.

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Kremlin: West wants to fight "to the last Ukrainian"
Russia rejected Zelensky's "victory plan". "The only peace plan there can be is for the Kiev regime to recognize the futility of its policy and understand that it needs to sober up," raged Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in Moscow. According to Russia, the government in Kiev should wake up and recognize the senselessness of its policy. It is still too early to comment on the "victory plan" presented by Zelenskyi, countered Peskov. It probably corresponds to the US plan, which envisages fighting Russia "to the last Ukrainian".

Attacks never end
Meanwhile, Kherson was cut off from the power supply after months of Russian attacks. Repair work on the power grid of the southern Ukrainian city was underway, explained Kherson's governor Oleksandr Prokudin on Wednesday. According to experts, the power supply should be restored within a few hours. According to the authorities, there were also power outages in parts of the neighboring region of Mykolaiv.

According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia deployed 136 Iranian-made combat drones against Ukraine during the night. 51 of them were shot down and a further 60 were knocked out of the sky by jammers.

The Russian army has been repeatedly attacking energy supply facilities in Ukraine for months. According to estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA), two thirds of Ukraine's electricity production capacity has been destroyed since the start of the Russian war of aggression in February 2022.