Western powers pour cold water on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s “Victory Plan” Putin says Russia ready to fight until the end
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has poured cold water on Vladimir Zelensky’s ‘victory plan’, refusing to acquiesce to some of its key points. He argued that the EU has a responsibility to ensure that the conflict in Ukraine does not become a war between Russia and NATO.
On Wednesday, Zelensky presented his vision to the Ukrainian parliament, acknowledging that its success largely depends on Kiev’s Western backers. The plan consists of eight points, three of which are classified.
Among the publicly disclosed points are a demand that Ukraine be immediately admitted into NATO. Secondly, Kiev wants its Western backers to lift all restrictions on the use of long-range missiles, including strikes against targets deep inside Russia’s internationally recognized territory.
Speaking to reporters following the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, Scholz said that “Germany’s stance on the issues that are touched upon” in Zelensky’s plan remain the same. The chancellor added that it is his duty to prevent the Ukraine conflict from escalating into a full-blown war between NATO and Russia.
With respect to Ukraine’s repeated requests for German-made Taurus long-range missiles, Scholz reiterated that he did not “deem this the right supply – and this still holds.”
Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz talks to journalists as he arrives to an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. © AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert
The German chancellor also put the brakes on Zelensky’s demand for fast-track NATO membership, pointing to the bloc’s July summit in Washington where proponents of quick membership were not able to convince skeptics, including the US and Germany.
According to Scholz, the general consensus reached at the gathering was merely that Ukraine was irreversibly on its way to full membership at some unspecified point in the future when certain conditions were met.
Speaking to reporters after the NATO defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Friday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin dodged the question about Western long-range missiles that implied Putin’s “nuclear blackmail” was successful.
He also denied that the US may have told Ukraine to stop striking deep into Russia with drones.
“We’ve seen Ukrainians use their long-range UAV strike capability to great effect,” Austin told reporters. “They’re able to produce these UAVs in Ukraine. They’re able to scale that production rapidly. The UAV’s have proven to be very effective and accurate.”
“When you consider the fact that one precision guided missile costs, in some cases, close to $1 million – depending on what it is – and these UAVs they can produce in great numbers at a fraction of the cost,” Austin continued. “So you look at the balance sheet, and the effects that are being created on the battlefield, I think this is a great capability.”
“How they use the capability that they’re producing is going to be their call,” the Pentagon head noted.
Earlier this year, Ukraine launched a series of drone attacks on Russian infrastructure, including oil depots and refineries. The US government reportedly pressured Kiev to end the strikes, out of concern that they could substantially disrupt oil prices during the election year.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks at a press conference after the meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Belgium, October 18, 2024. © Dursun Aydemir/Getty Images
Austin himself told the Senate in April that he was worried about “knock-on effect in terms of the global energy situation” from Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries. Meanwhile, one of his deputies Celeste Wallander told lawmakers that the strikes “have not significantly altered Russia’s ability to prosecute the war.
Moscow’s response to Kiev’s drone offensive was a series of missile strikes that crippled Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Ukrainian long-range attacks have become much less frequent since.
President Vladimir Putin spoke about the ongoing conflict on Friday during a meeting with leading reporters of the BRICS nations. He refused to make any predictions on when the hostilities will end, cautioning others against making such forecasts as well.
“Trying to define some timeline is a very difficult thing. And it is generally counterproductive,” Putin said, while responding to a question on when Russia expects to achieve victory.
A Russian guntruck. © Sputnik / Yevgeny Biyatov
“Russia understands that the conflict in Ukraine is an ‘irritant’ in global affairs and strives to reach peace as soon as possible,” he said. “It’s up to Russia’s opponents to demonstrate goodwill and signal readiness for talks.”
“If this is a completely sincere position from the other side – sure, the sooner, the better,” he said, warning that Moscow is fully capable of continuing with the armed conflict for as long as it takes to achieve victory.
“The Russian Army has certainly become not only one of the most high-tech, but also the most combat-ready [forces]. And when NATO gets tired of fighting with us… you have to ask them about it. We are ready to continue this struggle and victory will be ours,” Putin insisted.
Source AP/RT/X/Telegram