Zelensky is trying to sell his victory plan to European leaders, who are in no hurry to approve it – NYT

Volodymyr Zelensky is attempting to sell his so-called “victory plan” to European leaders, but it remains unclear whether they will accept it.

This is reported by “The New York Times”, which highlights concerns among Western allies about potential escalation if Ukraine carries out strikes on Russian territory.

“Western allies fear that Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory could escalate the war, and they have refused to lift restrictions on such strikes using Western-supplied weapons, according to Ukrainian officials,” the article states.

It also points out that Western allies are reluctant to allow Ukraine to join NATO while the war is ongoing, as this could draw them into the largest land conflict in Europe since 1945. Although allies, including the U.S., have continued to promise further military assistance to Ukraine, leaders like German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are facing public pressure to reduce their countries’ support at this stage of the conflict.

In another article on long-range missiles, “The New York Times” writes that President Biden declined Ukraine’s request to use American-made missiles, such as ATACMS, against targets in Russia due to a shortage of these missiles.

“The relative shortage of U.S.-made ATACMS is one reason why President Biden refused Ukraine’s request to use this weapon against targets in Russia. Pentagon officials say they simply cannot supply more of these systems to Ukraine without dipping into reserves set aside for U.S. troops in potential conflicts in the Middle East and Asia,” the paper reports.

Additionally, “NYT” notes that U.S. Defense Department officials are concerned that conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine will divert resources from the Pacific region, where the military is increasingly focusing its attention—especially in case of a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan or territorial disputes in the South China Sea escalating into something larger.

Earlier, an expert predicted that the failure of Zelensky’s “victory plan” could become his personal “Golgotha.”

Two days ago, Zelensky presented this plan in Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, which had already been criticized in the U.S.