Zelensky presents victory plan to Starmer, meets NATO Secretary General Rutte.
President Volodymyr Zelensky presented Ukraine's victory plan to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the former's visit to London on Oct.
10. Zelensky already presented his five-point plan to U.S.
President Joe Biden at the White House during his trip to the U.S. in late September. He also discussed it with presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, as well as members of Congress. The plan includes military and diplomatic elements, such as Ukraine's bid to join NATO, though the full details of the peace framework have not been made public.
According to Kyiv, the goal is to bolster Ukraine's negotiating position and pressure Russia into agreeing to a just peace. After arriving in the U.K. earlier on Oct.
10, Zelensky outlined the details of the plan to Starmer, focusing on points related to military support for Kyiv. "The leaders agreed to work on the plan together with the allies," the Presidential Office said. "The victory plan aims to create the right conditions for a just end to the war.
It is a bridge to the second peace summit. Ukraine can negotiate only from a strong position," Zelensky commented after the meeting. Zelensky and Starmer also met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to discuss Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration and military support.
Rutte visited Kyiv last week on his first trip to Ukraine's capital as NATO's chief, a position he assumed on Oct.
1. "During the meeting, the parties discussed the swift implementation of NATO Washington Summit decisions, in particular, on strengthening Ukraine with new air defense systems, enhancing aviation capabilities, and allied investments in Ukrainian production of shells, drones, and long-range weaponry," according to the Presidential Office. Zelensky's tour will continue with visits to France, Italy, and Germany in an effort to ramp up support across the European continent ahead of the uncertain U.S. election.
Ukraine faces an increasingly difficult situation in the war, with Russian forces steadily pushing forward along the eastern front and growing anxieties over energy deficits in the coming winter. There are fears that if Republican candidate Donald Trump returns to the White House, the U.S. might scale down its support or push Kyiv toward peace at the cost of painful territorial concessions.
Zelensky calls for jointly intercepting Russian missiles during NATO chief Rutte's visit to Kyiv Newly appointed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived in Kyiv on Oct.
3 for a surprise visit, NATO spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said.
