Zelenskyy presents 'victory plan' to European leaders

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has presented his victory plan to European leaders and NATO allies in the Belgian capital, Brussels.

The initiative was presented by Zelenskyy to Ukrainian lawmakers on Wednesday and Ukraine's President said that it aims to serve as a bridge ahead of a possible peace summit in the future. 

Zelenskyy added that, if implemented, it has the ability to bring the war with Russia to an end by next year. 

"I think it's so important to have unity in our country. The goal of the Plan is that it strengthens not only Ukraine but also our entire community – the Euro-Atlantic community," Zelenskyy said during opening remarks at the European Union leaders' summit. 

Getting buy-in from EU member states will be a major challenge. The delivery of weapons without restrictions on how they are used is a pillar of Zelenskyy's proposal. However, Ukraine's allies have expressed reservations over their military hardware being used to hit targets in Russian territory, fearing a wider escalation in the conflict. 

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been skeptical of providing further military assistance for Ukraine and ahead of Thursday's meeting, he said that the EU needed to shift from a war strategy to a peace strategy. 

"The EU's current war strategy is not working; we are losing this war," said Orban, adding "the EU went into this war with poor planning, poor execution, and poor calculations."

Another key priority for Kyiv is an invitation to NATO. Zelenskyy told his audience: "Putin just must see that his geopolitical calculations are worthless. And an invitation now with membership later will have no political cost – it's a strong decision that requires nothing but determination."

He also made his case to NATO defense ministers gathering at a summit at the military alliance's headquarters in Brussels. 

NATO's new Secretary-General Mark Rutte has expressed support for Ukraine's membership but offered few details on timing, telling reporters that "the work we are doing is making Ukraine stronger, more interoperable with NATO and better prepared than ever to join our alliance and I believe all this work clearly constitutes a bridge to NATO membership. Ukraine will join the alliance of course when the time is right."

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