Ukraine shoots down 22 of 56 drones that Russia launches overnight, five drones hit critical infrastructure sites. Ukraine to become a NATO member, with the exact timeline unknown, NATO Secretary General says. Zelenskyi presents a victory plan to leaders at the EU Council summit in Brussels.
Ukraine shoots down 22 of 56 drones that Russia launches overnight, five drones hit critical infrastructure sites
Russia launched a total of 56 attack drones and other unidentified types of drones at Ukraine overnight on Thursday. It also sent into Ukraine a Kh-59 air-launched missile from Kursk region, the Ukrainian Air Force said. Ukraine’s military said it shot down 22 drones, and 27 more disappeared off radar after likely being disabled by electronic warfare systems. Two more drones flew into Belarus. Five more Russian drones hit critical infrastructure facilities in regions near the front line, the report reads.
The intercepts took place over the regions of Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Ternopil, Sumy and Zhytomyr, Ukraine’s Air Force said.
The drones were launched from the area of Russia’s Kursk, Oryol, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk. The Air Force and other branches of the Ukrainian military deployed aircraft, surface-to-air missile troops, electronic warfare units and mobile groups to repel the attack.
Ukraine to become NATO member, with exact timeline unknown, Secretary General says
Ukraine will become NATO’s 33rd or 34th member “in the future”, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi presented a victory plan to the Ukrainian Parliament, describing the first step as an immediate and unconditional invitation to join NATO. When asked if the allies were moving in their willingness to grant him this, Rutte refrained from a direct answer.
“At the moment it seems that it will be Ukraine as number 33, but maybe somebody else pops in front of him. But Ukraine will be a member of NATO in the future. That is what we decided in Washington. So the question is now about the timeline,” he said.
He added that the allies focused on initiatives that “constitute a bridge to NATO membership” for Ukraine. “Then the question exactly about the when I cannot answer now, at this moment, but clearly we are working on all these tracks to make sure that indeed one day Ukraine will be a member of NATO,” Rutte said.
Ukraine’s victory plan consists of five main points and three secret annexes. According to some analysts, it is a plan of forcing Russia into peace. An unconditional invite to join NATO is at the heart of the plan.
NATO officials said they did not expect an invitation to Ukraine anytime soon. “We are not at the point right now where the Alliance is talking about issuing an invitation [to Ukraine] in the short term,” U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO, Julianne Smith told journalists on Wednesday.
Zelenskyi presents victory plan to leaders at EU Council summit
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi presented Ukraine’s victory plan to leaders at the European Council summit in Brussels.
EU’s unity “is also a weapon,” he said. “It’s a weapon that means one thing for all of us — safety.”
Zelenskyi said that the second peace summit will bring the end of the war closer, adding that Ukraine was working on a “peace formula framework” that includes “all aspects of peace restoration.”
“There were already four meetings on Peace Formula Points, and today the fifth one is taking place. I’m grateful to France for hosting today’s meeting. It’s nuclear security. And in November we will come up with a full-fledged document based on the Peace Formula, all the ten points, and we’ll share it with all, including Russians at the Peace Summit,” the Ukrainian president said.
“How can we all prepare Russia for real diplomacy and force it to just peace?” he questioned the audience, citing the victory plan as an answer. He said Ukraine needed EU’s support for the plan to end the war.
“If we start now and follow the Victory Plan, we can end this war no later than next year,” Zelenskyi said. “The goal of the Plan is that it strengthens not only Ukraine but also our entire Euro-Atlantic community,” he added.
“Russia will resort to diplomacy only when it sees that it cannot achieve anything by force — this is the Plan, this is exactly what’s needed. And we must create the right conditions to end this war,” he continued. “We are ready to put the Victory Plan on your table and are counting on your support,” he said.
“Ukraine is ready for real diplomacy. But for it, we must be strong. Forcefully imposed truce instead of fair peace never provided security. Nobody is happy when the war is brought back. And our unity, pressure on Russia, and strengthening Ukraine are the keys to ending this war in a way that prevents Russia from starting it again,” Zelenskyi said.