KYIV: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has partially revealed his five-point plan aimed at prompting Russia to end the war through negotiations. A key element would be a formal invitation into NATO, which Western backers have been reluctant to consider until after the war ends.
Zelensky outlined the plan to Ukraine’s Parliament on Wednesday without disclosing confidential elements that have been presented in private to key allies, including the United States.
Here’s what we know:
Invitation to NATO
The plan’s first section involves formally inviting Ukraine to join NATO in the near future.
While this doesn’t mean Ukraine would become a member until after the war ends, it would signal a “testament of determination” and demonstrate how Western partners view Ukraine within the “security architecture,” Zelensky said.
“For decades, Russia has exploited the geopolitical uncertainty in Europe, particularly the fact that Ukraine is not a NATO member,” Zelensky said. “This has tempted Russia to encroach upon our security.”
He described the invitation to join NATO as “truly fundamental for peace” in Ukraine.
NATO partners have been reluctant to invite Ukraine to join while the war is ongoing, and Zelensky’s request for an invitation puts the military alliance in a difficult position.
Since the onset of the full-scale invasion in 2022, the alliance has faced challenges in finding ways to bring Ukraine closer without formally extending an invitation.
At their summit in Washington in July, NATO’s 32 members declared Ukraine on an “irreversible” path to membership. But any decision on offering to start membership talks is not likely before the next summit in the Netherlands in June.

Defense
The second section, entitled defense, focuses on strengthening Ukraine’s capability to reclaim territory and “to bring the war back to the Russian territory.”
It includes the continuation of military operations in Russia with the aim of strengthening Ukraine’s ability to repel Russian forces from occupied territories in Ukraine.
It also would involve enhancing air defense and jointly intercepting Russian missiles and drones with neighboring countries along the international border. Ukraine wants to expand the use of Ukrainian drones and missiles, and lift restrictions on using Western-supplied weapons for long-range strikes against military infrastructure inside Russia.
Ukraine also seeks greater access to a broader range of intelligence from allies and real-time satellite data. This section of the plan has confidential elements accessible only to allies with the “relevant assistance potential,” Zelensky said.
He said Ukraine has been providing its partners “with a clear justification of what its goals are, how they intend to achieve them, and how much this will reduce Russia’s ability to continue the war.”
Western partners have been wary of Ukraine using donated weapons in anything but a defensive capacity, for fear of being drawn into the conflict.
Ukraine has long been lobbying for the US to drop its restrictions on using long-range Western weapons to strike deep inside Russia, but the Biden administration’s red line remained unchanged even after Zelensky’s recent visit to Washington, D.C.
 

Deterrence
In the deterrence section of the plan, Ukraine calls for deploying “a comprehensive non-nuclear deterrence package on its territory that would be sufficient to protect the country from any military threat posed by Russia.”
Zelensky did not elaborate on the details of such a non-nuclear deterrence, but he said it would be used against specific Russian military targets, meaning that Russia would “face the loss of its war machine.”
He said this capability would limit Russia’s options for continuing its aggression and prod it into engaging in a fair diplomatic process to resolve the war.
Classified elements of this section have been shared with the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany, he said. Other countries capable of contributing also would be briefed, Zelensky said.
Economy
The fourth section focuses on developing Ukraine’s strategic economic potential and strengthening sanctions against Russia.
Zelensky highlighted that Ukraine is rich in natural resources, including critically important metals “worth trillions of US dollars,” such as uranium, titanium, lithium, graphite, etc.
“Ukraine’s deposits of critical resources, combined with its globally significant potential in energy and food production, are among Russia’s key objectives in this war,” he said. But it also “represents our opportunity for growth.”
The economic component of the plan also includes a confidential addendum shared only with selected partners, he said.
“Ukraine offers … a special agreement for the joint protection of Ukraine’s critical resources, shared investment, and use of its economic potential,” he said. “This, too, is peace through strength — economic strength.”
Post-war period
The fifth section is geared toward the post-war period. Zelensky stated that Ukraine will have a big army of experienced military personnel after the war.
“These are our soldiers — warriors who will possess real experience in modern warfare, successful use of Western weaponry, and extensive interaction with NATO forces,” he said. “This Ukrainian experience should be used to strengthen the alliance’s defense and ensure security in Europe. It’s a worthy mission for our heroes.”
He also mentioned that, with partners’ approval, Ukrainian units could replace certain US military contingents stationed in Europe.

MILWAUKEE: Kamala Harris said Thursday that Israel’s killing of Hamas’ top leader offers “an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza,” talking plainly about next steps even as the pro-Palestinian demonstrators who gathered outside her campaign event underscored the complicated politics at play.
The Democratic presidential nominee said the war “must end such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”
“It is time for the day after to begin,” she said, speaking from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee just moments after the White House released President Joe Biden’s statement on the death of Yahya Sinwar. Israeli officials said Sinwar was killed in a battle with Israeli forces in Gaza.

The administration’s response to the killing of a chief architect of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel was carefully choreographed, leaving room for Harris to emphasize the push to end the war as she balances her loyalty to Biden.
With the presidential race at razor-thin margins and the election just a few weeks away, the vice president is seeking to solidify support in battleground states and shore up left flank voters who want to see an immediate end to the bloody conflict, some of whom threaten not to vote for her.
The Biden administration’s support for Israel has complicated her campaign push in metro Detroit, especially in Dearborn, an area home to the nation’s largest Arab American community. The death earlier this month of a Dearborn resident killed in south Lebanon ignited more anger in the traditionally Democratic area.
Speaking Thursday in Flint, Michigan, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she was hopeful for an end to the violence.
“Have the hostages returned and have a solution for long-term peace in the region. That’s everything that I think is so important. And, you know, any chance that we can do that, I think would be welcomed by so many people,” she said.

Trump ’unstable’

At Harris’ next stop in Wisconsin, at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, her remarks focused on Trump and his falsehoods around the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol.
Trump is “increasingly unstable and unhinged, and will stop at nothing to claim unchecked power for himself,” she said.

William Schauberger, a 24-year-old political science major, said ahead of her rally there that he wasn’t optimistic that either side would put a stop to the conflict raging in the Middle East.
“I mean, especially when there were, you know, massive protests. And instead of doing anything about it, and trying to secure stuff, they just tended to, you know, ignore it and ... just denounce the protests,” he said.
Harris has not proposed any policy shifts on Israel, and her remarks largely echoed Biden’s statement. But she has, of late, faced increasing pressure to articulate how she would govern differently from Biden.
While Biden’s favorability ratings remain underwater, some of the biggest pieces of his legislative agenda, from infrastructure to lowering the costs of some prescription drugs, are popular, and signaling any daylight with the president on foreign policy at a time of global crises could be seen as reckless.
Biden’s written statement on Sinwar’s death — released as he was traveling to Germany for a visit with Chancellor Olaf Scholz — focused on how US intelligence helped the Israelis pursue Hamas leadership and noted that Israel had every right to “eliminate the leadership and military structure of Hamas.”
“Today proves once again that no terrorists anywhere in the world can escape justice, no matter how long it takes,” Biden said.
He said he would speak with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “congratulate them, to discuss the pathway for bringing the hostages home to their families and for ending this war once and for all, which has caused so much devastation to innocent people.”