Thread by @ZelenskyyUa

Today, I addressed the European Council meeting regarding our strategy to force Russia into real diplomacy and emphasized that European unity is also a weapon, one that ensures safety not only for Ukraine but for all European nations.

I’m grateful to the leaders and their countries for all the support. Together, we’ve saved thousands of Ukrainian lives and proven that war in Europe will not benefit the aggressor. Together, we must stop this war.

Together, we must ensure the conditions for the kind of peace we all need – for Ukrainians and all the nations of Europe. Let me remind you, this summer we held a successful Peace Summit. More than 100 countries and international organizations supported it.

It’s a clear path to restoring a just peace based on the UN Charter. We must hold a second Peace Summit to put an end to the war. We are preparing a Peace Formula Framework that includes all aspects of peace restoration.

We’ve already had four meetings on the Peace Formula Points. Today, the fifth one is taking place in France. I am grateful to France for hosting it. In November, we will develop a full-fledged document based on the Peace Formula and share it with everyone, including Russians, at the Peace Summit.

But how can we all make Russia ready for real diplomacy and force it to just peace? The Victory Plan provides the answer to this. Our people in Ukraine are doing everything to defend our state and independence. I’m proud of our soldiers, who are holding the front under incredibly difficult conditions.

They need more strength because Putin is preparing his reinforcements to continue the war, not end it. Putin wants to match your countries’ ammunition production by next year. He’s getting help from North Korea with shells, equipment, and now even people. Plus, Iran.

Unfortunately, we also have clear intelligence that China is still actively helping Russia drag out this war. We need to strengthen now. The Victory Plan is designed for this moment. I urge you to help make it happen. If we start now and follow the Victory Plan, we can end this war no later than next year.

I presented the Victory Plan to our parliament and the people. I have their support. The goal of the Plan is to strengthen not only Ukraine but also our entire Euro-Atlantic community. Russia will resort to diplomacy only when it sees that it cannot achieve anything by force. We must create the right conditions to end this war.

First—Alliance. Ukraine is a democratic nation that has proven it can defend the Euro-Atlantic region and our shared way of life. For decades, Russia has used the geopolitical uncertainty caused by Ukraine not being in NATO.
Now, the fact of an immediate invitation to Ukraine to join NATO would be decisive.

Putin just must see that his geopolitical calculations are worthless. An invitation now with membership later will have no political cost – it’s a strong decision that requires only determination.

It will symbolize more than just NATO – it will show the inevitability of Ukraine’s European integration and the undeniable path of democracy in Ukraine. An invitation strengthens our diplomatic stance and will be one of the main arguments to stop the war.

Second—Defense. We must continue applying pressure on Russia on the battlefield. It’s realistic to maintain positions on the front within Ukrainian territory while also bringing the war back into Russia, so Russians can feel what war is like and begin to hate Putin for it. This is the pressure too.

We have a clear list of weapons that can make this possible. With the Kursk Operation, we showed that Putin doesn’t have enough strength when we apply pressure. That’s why we need to equip our brigades, lift limitations, invest in Ukrainian defense industrial base, coproduce, and saturate Ukraine with air-defense as soon as possible.

Third—Real pressure. We propose placing a deterrence package on Ukrainian land to either force Russia to participate in real peace negotiations or allow for the destruction of their military targets. This is the Peace Through Strength Approach. It’s about the appropriate missile package.

We’ve provided all the details to our partners who can make this happen. These are the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany. Putin must respect our strength, not have the free world tremble at his threats.

Fourth— Ukraine has critical resources worth trillions of dollars, and Russia wants to take them. This includes titanium, uranium, lithium, graphite, manganese, and more. These resources must not fall into Russian hands or the hands of its allies. Enemies of the free world must not gain any advantage in the global competition.

Ukraine proposes a special agreement with key partners – the EU, the US, and our mutual global partners – to protect Ukraine’s critical resources, have joint investment, and direct relevant economic potential towards our shared growth. This agreement must include sanctions strong enough so Russia can’t outplay us.

Fifth— after this war, Ukraine will have hundreds of thousands of soldiers with modern combat experience. We propose supporting your strength with ours by replacing some of the American contingents with our soldiers in Europe or agreed locations, freeing up US forces to do more in its priority regions, specifically in the Indo-Pacific. But for this, we need to win.

We are ready to put the Victory Plan on the table for European leaders and are counting on their support. Ukraine is ready for real diplomacy. But to achieve it, we must be strong. Forcefully imposed truces instead of fair peace never provided security. No one is happy when war is brought back.

Our unity, pressure on Russia, and strengthening Ukraine are the keys to ending this war in a way that prevents Russia from starting it again. The Victory Plan is a bridge to a successful Second Peace Summit. Help make this a reality. It will protect not only Ukraine but also the Baltics, Nordics, Poland, and the Balkans.

Please don’t ease the pressure of sanctions on Russia – it truly helps. Ukraine appreciates Europe’s joint work on developing defense production— investment and joint manufacturing are needed. Ukraine is grateful for all the support of our resilience.

This includes support for our energy sector ahead of winter, and for our people – especially the financial assistance that helps us meet the basic needs of Ukrainians. The political decision on 35 billion euros for Ukraine, as part of the G7’s resolution on 50 billion dollars from Russian assets, is extremely important.

It’s needed as soon as possible. Russia must pay and be held accountable for the destruction it has caused. Together, we can and must bring peace closer.