Zelenskyy said his victory plan will lead to ‘reliable peace’ in Ukraine
KYIV – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that he will present to President Joe Biden a plan to strengthen Ukraine that could “pave the way to a reliable peace” in the country’s ongoing war with Russia.
Speaking in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said the plan would not end the war outright but that “it would help.” The Ukrainian president will travel to the United States later this month to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York, and he is expected to meet with Biden.
“I can’t give 100 percent that it will stop [Russian President Vladimir] Putin – no,” Zelenskyy said after his speech during a question-and-answer session conducted by foreign policy analyst Fareed Zakaria. “But it will make Ukraine stronger. And I think push Putin to think about how to finish the war.”
Zelenskyy spoke at the annual Yalta European Strategy conference, a high-level gathering of Ukrainian and Western officials and civil society leaders, organized by the charity of Viktor Pinchuk, one of Ukraine’s richest men.
“If we have no illusions, if we all want one day to hear the words, finally, a just peace has come to Ukraine, then we should hear right now that Ukraine has become strong enough … for victory,” Zelenskyy said. “This will be the guarantee.”
Zelenskyy said he would reveal the plan first to Biden and then to the presidential candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump, as well as members of Congress. However, he declined to give details, which he said would consist of only a few points.
“All the points depend on the decision of Biden,” he said.
Zelenskyy also renewed his plea to his Western allies to lift restrictions on missiles they have supplied so that Ukraine can strike targets deeper inside Russia. Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are expected to discuss the issue in a meeting Friday.
“Anyone who simply looks at the map and sees where Russia is launching strikes, where it is preparing forces and holding reserves, where its military facilities are located, and what logistics it uses – anyone who sees all of this clearly understands why Ukraine needs long-range capabilities,” he posted on Telegram after the conference.
Zelenskyy said that fighting in eastern Ukraine, especially around the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk, remained difficult. But he said “I believe that in the last week has stabilized a little bit.”
He added that the Russian counteroffensive in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have taken about 500 square miles of territory last month, had “so far” not seen “any serious successes.” The incursion was in part needed to stop Russian advances in the Kharkiv region and prevent Moscow from creating a buffer zone in northeastern Ukraine, he said.
The fighting in Kursk had also succeeded in diverting Russian resources, Zelenskyy said. Previously Russian forces fired 12 shells for every one used by Ukrainian troops. But now the ratio was two and a half to one, he said.