Russia–Ukraine war latest: Zelensky pushes for EU and Nato to back his ‘victory plan’ against Putin’s forces

Nato must boost its support of Ukraine in the months ahead to pressure Russia and to ensure Ukraine can prevail in the war, the UK’s defence secretary John Healey has said.

Speaking ahead of the Nato meeting in Brussels, Mr Healey told reporters: “We must do everything we can to step up our support for Ukraine in the weeks and months ahead, to put more pressure on Russia to ensure that Ukraine can prevail, because the defence of Europe starts in Ukraine.

“We owe them that duty to stand with them as long as it takes,” he said.

Latvia supports Volodymyr Zelensky’s “Victory Plan”, the country’s defence minister Andris Spruds has said.

Speaking to reporters ahead of today’s Nato meeting, Mr Spruds added that air policing by the Western military alliance over the Baltic states to the defence mission must be upgraded.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky should be able to start talks with Russia from a position of strength, Nato chief Mark Rutte has said.

“We are in this, if necessary, for the long haul,” said Mr Rutte. “Obviously we want to be in a place where Ukraine, from a position of strength, is able to start talks with Russia, but till that moment comes, he can count on continuing support.”

Mr Rutte, formerly prime minister of the Netherlands, assumed the role of Nato chief at the start of this month, taking the reins from Norwegian politician Jens Stoltenberg, who had held the position since 2014.

Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda has warned that now is the “worst moment” to start negotiations between Ukraine and Russia because Moscow currently feels it has the upper hand.

“Right now he thinks he is prevailing and pushing Ukraine into the corner. This is the worst moment to start negotiations because he feels Russia is the stronger side,” Mr Nauseda told reporters.

The Baltic nation has been a staunch ally of Ukraine since the 2022 invasion by Russia, fearing it could be a future target.

Estonia hopes to see action and next steps toward Ukraine’s Nato membership, its defence minister Hanno Pevkur has said.

“Estonia has always said that the only real security guarantee for Ukraine is Nato membership,” Mr Pevkur tol reporters ahead of a meeting with counterparts from Nato countries in Brussels.

Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed long-range weapons, the delivery of aid packages and the implementation of his “victory plan” during a phone call with US president Joe Biden.

“We talked about long-range weapons, about the Ramstein meeting in a few weeks. We also talked about how our teams will work on the points of the victory plan,” Mr Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian military said it shot down 22 out of 56 Russian drones during an overnight attack.

The air force said it lost track of 27 drones that likely fell into Ukrainian territory following active electronic warfare measures and two drones went to Belarus.

It recorded five hits to infrastructure in the regions near the frontline during the attack.

The five key points of the “victory plan” unveiled yesterday by Volodymyr Zelensky all involve calls to action for Ukraine’s international allies, in one form or the other.

Zelensky has made clear that he believes this to be what is needed if he is to meet his goal of ending the war “no later than” 2025, the Institute for the Study of War has said.

Simplified, the five points of the plan are as follows:

1. An immediate invitation to join Nato

2. Continued Western support and aid including equipping Ukrainian brigades

3. Supporting Ukraine’s ability to use Western-provided weapons to strike military targets in Russia and increasing intelligence sharing with Ukraine

4. Western and Ukrainian non-nuclear strategic deterrence against Russia

5. Western investment in Ukraine’s strategic economic growth; and a promise that Ukrainian forces will “replace” certain Western military contingents currently stationed in Europe after the war’s conclusion

Ukraine is requesting an invitation to join NATO before Joe Biden leaves the White House, a senior Ukrainian diplomat said.

It would be a fitting way to end the 81-year-old’s presidency, Ukraine argues, and would be a strong “political signal”.

Speaking in an interview at the Ukrainian mission to NATO, the western military alliance’s Kyiv ambassador, Nataliia Galibarenko, said: “We sincerely believe that it can be part of the legacy of [the] current American administration.”

The US presidential election next month could have a significant impact on its approach towards support for Ukraine’s war against Russia, with Donald Trump so far unclear on how he would handle the conflict.

Russia says Ukraine’s possible accession to NATO is a justification for the brutal war they have waged since Putin’s forces invaded in February 2022.

But Galibarenko says an invitation would provide a “final verdict” for Russia, and that they would no longer be able to “raise the stakes using this topic”.

Around 18 North Korean soldiers have already left their positions in Russia’s Kursk and Bryansk, according to a Ukrainian news outlet.

North Korea has sent around 10,000 soldiers to Russia to aid Vladimir Putin’s invasion, a Western diplomat has said.

Of these, over a dozen soldiers have deserted from around 7 km (4 miles) from the border with Ukraine, reported Suspilne.

It is not immediately clear what caused the North Korean troops to voluntarily exit the conflict but the Russian military is looking for the now missing soldiers, the report added.

The information is being concealed by Russian commanders from being leaked to their higher-ups, the sources said.