Zelensky pitches ‘victory plan’ to EU leaders, steps up call for Ukraine to join Nato

But there was no immediate sign that Kyiv’s most powerful allies would throw their weight behind the most sensitive elements of the plan

Reading Time:2 minutes

European Council President Charles Michel (right) and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speak to media ahead of the EU summit in Brussels. Photo: Sierakowski Frederic/EU Council/dpa

Published: 7:16pm, 17 Oct 2024

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pitched his “victory plan” to European leaders on Thursday, urging them to back his call for an immediate invitation to join Nato to deal a “decisive” blow to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Addressing leaders of the European Union’s 27 member countries at a summit in Brussels, Zelensky also called for more military aid for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion.

“An immediate invitation to Ukraine to join Nato would be decisive. Putin just must see that his geopolitical calculations are worthless,” Zelensky told the leaders of the EU countries, most of which are also members of Nato.

“Putin must respect our strength, not have the free world tremble at his threats,” Zelensky said.

Putin has cited Ukraine’s potential membership of Nato as a reason for the invasion.

EU leaders pose for a group photo with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky during the EU summit in Brussels. Photo: Gaetan Claessens/EU Council/dpa

Zelenskiy’s five-point plan comes at a critical moment in the war, as Moscow’s forces advance in the east, a bleak winter of power cuts looms and a US presidential election casts uncertainty over the future of Western support.