Return of nuclear weapons or NATO and explanation of the Victory Plan: Zelenskyy's main statements at a meeting with journalists. Video

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave an interview on the air of a national telethon. During the conversation with journalists, he made a number of important statements, including the Victory Plan, the operation of the Defense Forces in the Kursk region, and plans to increase the volume of American military assistance.

The President also emphasized that Ukraine should be a member of NATO, which should guarantee its territorial integrity because it once gave up nuclear weapons and found itself defenseless. OBOZ.UA collected the main statements of Zelenskyy in its material.

Ukraine's Victory Plan

In particular, the Ukrainian leader said that Kyiv is currently waiting for the White House team to visit Ukraine.

At the same time, the feedback from Washington was "almost immediate" when Ukrainian officials went there and worked on the issues of invitation to NATO and strengthening the Armed Forces right now.

"Soon, they (the White House team – Ed.) will be here with some answers about the invitation to NATO and strengthening our army right now," he said.

When asked about the critics of the Victory Plan, Zelenskyy said that they simply have no alternatives at the moment.

"They have no alternative. They simply do not. Yes, they can talk about a frozen conflict. But the question is, what will happen the day after tomorrow when Putin gathers his strength again? Why won't there be an attempt to repeat 2022? Who can guarantee that? No one is raising their hand, no one is commenting," the head of state said.

Joining NATO

According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine and the United States are now closer to NATO than ever, but Germany is still skeptical.

"Unfortunately, the leading countries have not yet gotten rid of the desire to keep the door open for Russia – I think, that's my impression," he said.

At the same time, the President emphasized that, in his opinion, Ukraine should be a member of NATO, and recalled the Budapest Memorandum, which deprived our country of nuclear weapons but did not protect us from Russian aggression:

"I believe that if Ukraine had not given up nuclear weapons, it would have been our umbrella if we were not in NATO. But it is better to be in NATO. But we got nothing for it (getting rid of nuclear weapons) and the countries that guaranteed us territorial integrity under the Budapest Memorandum did not help us and did not fulfill their obligations."

Zelenskyy added that if you look at today's world map, there are no wars either in NATO countries or in those that have an arsenal of powerful weapons.

"And I don't want to be misrepresented – I said that Ukraine gave everything and received nothing," he reminded.

Strengthening American assistance

In the coming months, the United States will maximize its support for Ukraine: every two to three weeks there will be new aid packages, Zelenskyy announced.

The size of the aid packages will range from half a billion to 750 million dollars.

The President emphasized that it is "very important" to "strengthen Ukraine as much as possible " in the coming months, which is what the Victory Plan is designed to do.

"Now we will receive (American aid packages – Ed.) very quickly. It may be every 2-3 weeks. They will strengthen our army. I won't tell you the details, because I have no right to do so, but you will see everything later. I think the packages will be large, from half a billion to 750 million, and I think it will be a fairly quick process," Zelenskyy said.

Probability of negotiations with Russia

Ukraine is not averse to starting talks with Russian representatives, but first, it needs to be reinforced so that the conversation can take place "on equal terms," the head of state said.

"If we have the appropriate weapons, even if everyone has positive support for the Victory Plan, this is a step forward. You are already in a different situation," he said.

Ukraine is ready to start negotiations under one condition:

"Even when you talk to the Russians on a particular platform, because our partners see them everywhere, we don't mind. We say to them: "If you want us to talk to the Russians, then strengthen us. So that we sit at the table equally, and not have a chair somewhere off to the side."

The President also spoke about the Kursk operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to him, it stopped the wave of Russian disinformation that Russia was allegedly winning.

Will there be mobilization in Ukraine from the age of 18

Currently, there are no plans to mobilize from the age of 18, although Ukraine's allies are in favor of it, Zelenskyy said. He himself considers this initiative dangerous.

"The partners would like to see the mobilization age reduced. We do not yet see the need to introduce these changes, and I think they are dangerous," the president said.

At the same time, he said that people can go to serve under a contract even before reaching the mobilization age of 25.