Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine’s “victory” hinges on US support: “victory plan” to come before peace summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday September 11 that Ukraine’s “victory” against Russia depends “essentially” on help from the United States. His remarks come as the US presidential election in November approaches. A “victory plan” is due to be revealed before the end of the year, in anticipation of the second peace summit in Ukraine. This plan aims to “seriously strengthen Ukraine” and “force Russia to end the conflict”, Zelensky said. According to some observers, American determination also plays a crucial role in this dynamic.

The Ukrainian president had briefly mentioned the preparation of this plan at a press conference at the end of August, without going into detail. At the time, he mentioned that the Ukrainian incursion into the Russian region of Kursk, launched at the beginning of the month, was part of this strategy, with the aim of strengthening Kiev’s position with a view to negotiations with Moscow.

At the same time, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his British counterpart David Lammy were in Kiev to reaffirm their countries’ commitment and discuss a possible relaxation of the rules on the use of Western weapons against Russia, especially in the context of the latter being accused of having received ballistic missiles from Iran.