Ukraine's victory plan fully ready, Zelensky says

All points of Ukraine's victory plan that Kyiv aims to present to Washington have been worked out, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Sept. 18.

Zelensky plans to discuss the plan with U.S. President Joe Biden during his visit to the U.S. later this month.

While not revealing all the details, the president previously said that the plan is composed of four main points and a fifth related to the post-war situation. It focuses on Ukraine's security and geopolitical position, foreign military assistance with the freedom to use it without restrictions, and economic support.

Ukraine's cross-border incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast, which left a chunk of Russian territory under Kyiv's control, is also part of the strategy, Zelensky said.

"The most important thing now is the determination to implement it," the president said in his address.

"There isn't and cannot be any alternative to peace, no freezing of the war or any other manipulations that will simply postpone Russian aggression to a later stage."

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Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. POKROVSK DISTRICT, Donetsk Oblast – Marked by wide plumes of gray smoke on the horizon, the open fields stretching out southeast of t…

The Kyiv IndependentFrancis Farrell

Ukraine is open to suggestions from the U.S. to strengthen the plan, he added. U.S. officials said they had been acquainted with elements of Zelensky's strategy and voiced belief "that (it) can work."

Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Sept. 17 that the plan does not in any way include ceding territory to Russia.

"(Freezing of the conflict) will not lead to the end of the war but will only lead to Russia gaining the opportunity to accumulate additional resources and proceed to the third stage (of the war) with more mass killings of civilians in Ukraine," Podolyak said.

During the evening address, Zelensky also thanked soldiers "who ensure Ukraine's long-range capabilities... for an important outcome last night on Russian territory." The president praised the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR), and the Special Operations Forces for "inspiring precision."

An SBU source told the Kyiv Independent that Ukrainian drones attacked one of the largest arsenals in Russia overnight on Sept. 18, causing a powerful detonation in the town of Toropets in Russia's Tver Oblast.

Zelensky urges the West to allow long-range strikes without distance limits

If the West plans to lift the restrictions only for a range that Russia has already adapted to, then “this is a purely political decision to relieve pressure, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova