Kyiv expects quick answers from the West on “victory plan”

According to President Zelensky, Germany and Ukraine’s other allies should now react quickly to his “victory plan”. Time is running out, they say from Kyiv.

After presenting its “victory plan” in the war against the aggressor Russia, Ukraine is hoping for quick commitments from the West for the military aid it demands. It’s not a matter of days, but of hours, said the head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak, on Ukrainian television. “Our partners understand the logic of the plan,” he said. Very concrete steps are needed from Western partners to help Ukraine.

The country is under great pressure from the Russian troop advance. The details of the “victory plan” promoted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are not yet publicly known. According to his office, the basic principles will soon be made public. The head of state discussed the project behind closed doors with heads of state and government during his visits to Paris, Rome and London. In Berlin on Friday he met Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

It is known that Ukraine is demanding that the West release long-range weapons for strikes against military targets far in the Russian hinterland. The Ukrainian leadership has repeatedly stated that the aim is to destroy the military of the nuclear power Russia so that it can never attack another country again. Kyiv is also calling for Ukraine to be invited to NATO membership.

There has been a lot of attention on the plan, Jermak said. Now we need very concrete commitments from the West. Zelenskyj brought new defense packages with him from his trip, including commitments to supply anti-aircraft systems, investments for Ukraine’s own production of drones and other weapons.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Olexander Syrskyj, praised the successes in the use of drones against military targets on Russian territory on social networks. The Ukrainian military recently hit ammunition and fuel depots, triggering huge explosions and disrupting supplies.

Since the beginning of August, one Russian arsenal after another has been blown up, reported the Ukrainian foreign broadcaster Freedom. At least six large camps were hit with drones. In the Tver and Krasnodar regions, between 66 and 93 percent of the ammunition stocks were destroyed. Around 30,000 tons of ammunition are said to have been stored in the Toropets arsenal in the Tver region alone. Deliveries from Iran and North Korea were also destroyed, it said. The information cannot be independently verified.

The reason for the high losses is the procedure, already known from Soviet times, of storing as much ammunition as possible in one place for simple logistics, the broadcaster reported, citing experts. In addition, there are lax security precautions, storage sometimes in the open air and inadequate anti-aircraft defense for the depots.

Zelensky wants to significantly expand weapons production in Ukraine with Western investments. “Our industrial capacity allows us to produce far more drones, more grenades and military equipment than our country’s financial capabilities allow,” he said in his evening video message. The West could give the money, especially since many partners would otherwise not be able to help Ukraine sufficiently at the moment due to a lack of their own weapons.

“In addition, some partners have special technologies that can already be used in Ukraine,” said Zelensky. He thanked everyone who had already invested in the defense sector – especially in the production of drones. During his visit to Paris, a new Ukrainian-French model was discussed. This should now be deepened at the level of the defense ministers.