He had relevant information from his secret services, Zelensky said on Thursday in Brussels at a press conference on the sidelines of the EU summit. Some North Korean officers are already in occupied territory in Ukraine.
Russia wants to use this to fill gaps in its armed forces. Public opinion in Russia is against the mobilization of young Russians. North Korea would be the first country to support Russia with soldiers, after Iran’s support for Russia with drones and missiles. This would be “the first step towards a world war.”
35 billion euros from the EU
The Ukrainian president came to the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday to promote his “victory plan” to EU leaders. It is important for Ukraine to get the promised $50 billion from the G-7 states and the €35 billion from the EU “as quickly as possible” in order to be able to close gaps in military supplies, said Zelensky. He also urgently called for additional air defense capabilities and long-range weapons.
He said he had held separate discussions with the leaders of the US, France, Germany and Italy regarding the controversial deployment of long-range missiles into Russian territory. These countries should first reach agreement among themselves on this issue. If Ukraine does not receive the desired support from its partners for its “victory plan,” “we will continue to fight,” said the Ukrainian president.
NATO invitation required
In his speech to the EU summit, Zelensky also called for an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO. This means that “no red lines will be crossed,” he assured. Rather, such an invitation would strengthen Ukraine’s diplomatic position. Russian President Vladimir Putin must see that his geopolitical considerations are worthless. Zelensky recalled that Ukraine had given up nuclear weapons from the Soviet Union as part of the Budapest Memorandum. But the guarantees in this memorandum would not have worked. Ukraine has no plans to acquire nuclear weapons, but would rather be in NATO, said Zelensky. He also spoke about this with the Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump, who acknowledged his arguments. The USA and Germany have so far rejected Kiev joining NATO. Trump is considered an opponent of US military aid to Ukraine.
Zelensky described his “victory plan” as a “bridge to a second, successful peace summit.” A first such peace summit in Switzerland in June was supported by around 190 countries, including Austria, but Russia stayed away from the summit. In any case, Ukraine will continue to work on a second peace summit, said Zelensky.
“A dangerous winter”
“Winter is coming, and it’s always a dangerous winter for us,” he said. Ukraine particularly needs the funds that the EU wants to provide from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. “Our plan is to strengthen Ukraine.” This plan does not depend on Russia, but only on the will of Ukraine’s partners.
EU Council President Charles Michel called for “more military and financial support for Ukraine, it is urgent.” The EU will continue to stand by Kiev “as long as it takes.” At the same time, the EU must accelerate its support. There should be no ambiguity in these messages. “The destiny and future of Ukraine are in the EU,” assured the Council President.
Zelensky’s “victory plan” would not contain any new demands, but would primarily demand decisions that the EU states were previously unable to make, said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda. “Our hesitation does not contribute to de-escalation, but rather leads directly to escalation. If we supported Ukraine and it gained the upper hand, then Putin would be forced to come to the negotiating table.”
“Act of terrorism against civilian population”
NEOS delegation leader Helmut Brandstätter said: “Ukraine is facing a particularly hard winter. Putin is specifically bombing power plants and energy distributors. This is a deliberate act of terror against the civilian population. At the same time, these attacks are intended to force more people to flee. Current figures show one significant increase in refugee movement from Ukraine, including to Austria.” Therefore, the unity of the EU members is crucial.
The heads of state and government of the 27 EU member states are also likely to set the course in Brussels for a stricter migration policy for the European Union. In recent weeks, corresponding demands have come from many countries. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced measures for faster and more efficient returns in the run-up to the summit. Other topics include the situation in the Middle East, Moldova and Georgia and the competitiveness of the EU.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) welcomes what he called a “paradigm change” in the European Union’s asylum and migration policy. “Things are now going in the right direction,” said Nehammer.
“Accelerate EU asylum reform”
At the start of the EU summit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for accelerated implementation of the EU asylum reform. It is important to him that the agreement between the 27 EU states “is not just implemented gradually, but is accelerated,” said Scholz, according to dpa in Brussels. “In Germany we will submit the necessary laws to the German Bundestag very quickly, but it would be good if this could be introduced earlier everywhere in Europe.”
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According to EU diplomats, it is anything but certain whether the heads of state can actually agree on concrete demands on migration in the final summit declaration. Some states prefer a “substantive discussion” and would prefer to see the relevant paragraphs deleted. There is also a need for discussion with regard to the conflict in the Middle East. According to the draft summit declaration, the EU wants to call for de-escalation and express its concern about the Israeli attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon. According to the EU diplomat, there are states that want to use “clear language” here, while others would advocate more cautious language.
The Green delegation leader Thomas Waitz said: “The ‘paradigm change’ in EU migration policy praised by Nehammer is simply ineffective and not expedient. Deportation agreements and reception camps in third countries are not only expensive and ineffective, they are above all a short-circuit reaction driven by the conservatives from the right-wing extremists.” Waitz sees individual member states such as Hungary, the Netherlands and Poland going it alone as a wrong step. The challenges could only be solved through a solidarity-based reform of the asylum system.
It was supposed to be the last summit for EU Council President Charles Michel. The Belgian’s successor will be former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa.
