OPINION: Victory Plan – Guns Already Blazing at Zelensky! Really?

I received a question on the social media platform “we counter Russian propaganda” about the reactions to President Volodymyr Zelensky's “Victory Plan” to end the war in Ukraine:

 “Why is it getting a lukewarm response from allies?”

I then looked at Ukrainian media to see the response from Ukrainians to the plan after it was presented to Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada – and saw blazing guns were already turned on Zelensky.

Deep sigh.

Critics of the plan, in Ukraine and in the West, have everything backwards.  Did they expect some miracle plan?  Were they imagining an announcement that Kyiv had acquired nuclear weapons?

Or did they just want to score political points with vociferous fault-finding.

Realistically what Zelensky put forward is what Ukraine needs to prevail. If for some in Ukraine and in the West, it is the same annoying “broken record,” well, they should remember it is the same annoying and tragically prolonged war.

The lukewarm response from allies can be explained by the following: 

It is a bold plan that would need brave Western leaders to take on the challenge – we have seen very little courage from most of them to date.

There is a lack of leadership among Western allies - the US leadership is in a state of limbo with the election only 3 weeks away and the rest are holding their breath on the outcome.

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The Victory Plan largely restates the same pleas that Zelensky has made to Western allies for more than two years, but the reaction is even more halfhearted today.

Western allies fear Kyiv’s additional requests more - Zelensky wants their blessing to go into Russia to create Putin’s desired buffer zone on Russian territory and he has floated the idea of positioning Western troops in Ukraine as a non-nuclear deterrent. (Biden withdrew US troops from Ukraine in the Autumn of 2021)- another example of a lack of leadership among the allies.

The plan calls for economic support - the invitation to the EU and the US to jointly invest and use Ukraine's resources: a potential business bonanza that will only come when the region is clear of Russians.

Over a year ago Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius underlined this argument in relation to Ukraine’s immediate accession to NATO – “Investments will go to Ukraine only as part of NATO, accession should be accelerated,” he said.

It puzzles me why business is not pushing politicians to grasp this opportunity – I hope Zelensky has a solid feasible proposal package to open the eyes of the West to what lies underneath the vast Ukrainian fields of sunflowers…

Ukraine should be an integral part of Europe’s post-war security architecture – an issue to be debated at the appropriate (post-war) time.

Zelensky’s assertion that Ukrainian forces will be the best trained and prepared in Europe and could replace the US forces stationed in Europe may be so but the fundamental task for Europeans is to do everything possible and required (military spending) to retain the US military presence on the continent.

Ukrainians would undoubtedly be a great, superb addition to NATO’s collective defense – but not a replacement for anybody.

Summation of the Western “(non-)response” to the Victory Plan.

As one of the contributors to the “we counter Russian propaganda” platform, Ray McGarry, wrote:

 “Zelensky – a man who stands alone in front of the world’s cowards!”

The Ukrainian response to Zelensky’s Victory Plan

Ukrainian critics focused on the plan’s lack of a reference to the issue of mobilization and what the country itself is ready to do to bring about Victory.

In fact it should be pretty obvious to the whole world what Ukrainian patriots are ready to do to defend their country and bring victory – they display it every day – day in and day out, but they still need “logistical” help …

In Ukraine, the President is criticized for leaving domestic issues unresolved or taking too long to address them, for what others see as his mistakes and blunders.

Anywhere else the sort of criticism Zelensky gets, some of which he deserves, would be seen as part of a healthy, democratic political culture.

His Victory Plan is a simple, truthful statement of what Ukraine needs to beat Russia.

War boils down to having sufficient weapons and ammo to shooting down the enemy.

 Yes, much of the Plan is contains the same requests as Zelensky has made over the past two years. If the West had listened the first time, the Russian war would be over by now.

Last but not least – if NATO keeps blowing off Ukrainian bids to joining the Alliance – perhaps Ukraine should revisit the requirements of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances – protection for Ukraine if it gave up nuclear weapons. As the war with Russia has amply shown those who signed it have reneged on their commitments in one way or another.

Isn’t it time, therefore, for Ukraine to “think the unthinkable” and to get serious about ensuring it has the means to safeguard its own future defense?

The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.