UKRAINE, Oct 21—Ukraine’s accession to the North Atlantic Alliance is one part of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Victory Plan. According to the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Gerry Connolly, the issue of restoring sovereignty over all territories must first be resolved—Ukraine isn’t asked to join NATO because of the war. He said this in an interview with Radio Svoboda/Radio Liberty.

On October 16, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the details of his Victory Plan to a Ukrainian auaidence for the first time. He made his speech in the Parliament in front of MPs, and Ukraine’s ascention to NATO is the first step in his plan. 

Gerry Connolly noted that the entirety of Ukraine should join the Alliance geographically, not just “the part of the territory controlled by the Ukrainian government.” 

“In my view, NATO must be joined by the whole of Ukraine, including eastern Ukraine, southern Ukraine, and Crimea,” Connolly said.

He also doubts that U.S. President Joe Biden would agree to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the Alliance until after the end of the war without consulting NATO partners. According to Connolly, the top priority now is to end the “violence committed by the Russians on Ukrainian territories.”

In addition, in this interview, Gerry Connolly noted that the Ukrainian president’s proposal, presented in the fifth step of the Victory Plan, to replace US troops in Europe with Ukrainian units after the war is “inappropriate” and “even damaging” because the presence of American troops in Europe “calms our partners.” 

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