Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday ruled out ceding any of the country’s territory to Russia while presenting a long-awaited “Victory Plan” to parliament.
In a speech to MPs outlining his five-point plan, Zelensky said the solution to ending more than two years of war was not a frozen conflict and “not a trade-in of Ukraine’s territory or sovereignty.”
He also urged Western allies to extend an “invitation to join NATO now,” claiming that Moscow had been undermining European security because Kyiv is not a member of the US-led defense alliance.
Zelensky reiterated calls for the West to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range arms on military targets deep in Russian territory.
In addition, he asked for help in “equipping our reserve brigades.”
Ukraine proposes “to deploy a comprehensive non-nuclear strategic deterrence package on its territory” that would be “sufficient to protect Ukraine from any military threat from Russia,” Zelensky said.
After the war, the president said he envisaged “replacing certain military contingents of the US Armed Forces stationed in Europe with Ukrainian units.”
In his speech, Zelensky criticised China, Iran, and North Korea for supporting Russia, calling them a “coalition of criminals.”
He said he would present the plan to European leaders at a summit Thursday.