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Zelenskyy Takes 'Victory Plan' on European Tour
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Above: Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L), British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (C), and Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO (R), during a meeting at Downing Street in London, UK, on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. Image copyright: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Contributor/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Facts
Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday took a whistle-stop tour of three European capitals, promoting what he described as a "victory plan" for Ukraine. It "aims to create the right conditions for a just end to the war," Zelenskyy said.
Earlier in the week, as reports suggested vast Russian gains in eastern Ukraine, Zelenskyy said in a trip to Croatia that "the first step of the plan focuses on whether Ukraine will get a seat in NATO." Russia has strongly opposed such an idea.
The Spin
Pro-Ukraine narrative
Ukraine's ascension to NATO would show Russian Pres. Putin that the continued occupation of will leave Moscow lost on the international stage. As Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskyy has said, Russia must recognize that Europe has borders and independent states, and that every nation has the right to choose their own future.
Pro-Russia narrative
Dragging Ukraine into the NATO military alliance would exacerbate the issues that started this whole conflict in the first place, particularly given NATO's cultivation of Ukrainian nationalism that resulted in a violation of the rights of the country's Russian-speaking citizens. It's impossible to achieve a fair settlement without eliminating the route cause of the conflict.
