In the second half of October, a ‘victory plan’ announced by the government in Kiev for the proxy war being waged by the NATO powers against the Russian Federation dominated Ukrainian media. Political leaders in Ukraine have actively discussed and promoted the idea, led by regime president Volodymyr Zelensky. Of note is the fact that Zelensky first presented his 'plan' in Washington, London, Paris, and Brussels.

Only on October 16 was the 'plan' presented to the Ukrainian legislature (Verkhovna Rada). Even then, many details were not disclosed. Those details are being treated as a secret before the Rada and the Ukrainian public. Nevertheless, even the partial details showed the 'plan' as unrealistic and evidence that Zelensky was ready to do anything to retain power. It shows that he is ready to 'gift' Ukraine's natural and industrial resources to Western investors companies, and will continue sacrificing as many lives as needed.

Zelensky's government now operates without the slightest democratic legitimacy. His five-year electoral mandate expired six months ago, in mid-April 2024.

The 'plan' contains five points:

1. Western powers would invite Ukraine to join NATO in some capacity.
2. Military operations would continue on Russian soil, and NATO countries would lift restrictions on Ukraine attacking Russian territory using long-range missile weaponry.
3. Long-range NATO armaments may be used to strike against Russian territory.
4. More Western economic aid to boost Ukraine's military capacity, including the manufacture of weapons and strengthening of anti-Russian sanctions.
5. Using the Armed Forces of Ukraine to assist the militaries of NATO countries, including in their foreign military interventions.

Zelensky has explained that the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th points of his plan contain secret annexes, for the eyes of the Western powers only. On Telegram, the Strana.ua media outlet revealed that point #4 of the plan addresses the trillions of dollars worth of strategic mineral resources lying in the country's subsoil, including uranium, titanium, lithium and graphite (a metallic mineral composed of carbon). Zelensky's proposal is that such valuable natural resources should receive 'joint' protection with NATO powers.

'Joint protection' is an obvious reference to statements by US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who has repeatedly called for continued financial support for Ukraine, citing the trillions of dollars’ worth of minerals that could be extracted from the Ukrainian subsoil by US companies.

The ‘victory plan’ has all the appearance of a list of demands by the Ukrainian side to the Western powers that they escalate their involvement in the war against the Russian Federation. In exchange, they are offered the opportunity to exploit the wealth of the Ukrainian subsoil. Kiev spokespeople are also now openly declaring that a strengthened and ultimately 'victorious' Ukrainian Armed Forces would be at the disposal of the West in the name of 'defending Europe' against present and future threats.

Euronews reported on October 16 that in September, Zelensky gave his Western allies a deadline of three months to adopt the main provisions of his 'victory plan'.

Ukrainian political analyst Kostyantyn Bondarenko says that Zelensky is simply preparing to give away the Ukrainian subsoil for Western corporations to exploit. Bondarenko says this is the main point of the ‘victory plan; the rest is mere information noise. "Zelensky's reasoning about how many trillions of dollars the Ukrainian subsoil is worth suggests that it will be those very resources that will be used to pay to his Western partners for the cost of his artistry. I do not believe that Ukraine will be accepted into NATO, or that we will be trusted to formally join the European Union and be accorded a major role in 'protecting' Europeans. But I do believe they will give away the subsoil". He says Zelensky has no right to gift the subsoil, saying that according to the Ukraine constitution, the subsoil is part of Ukraine's patrimony and cannot be sold or gifted according to the political whims of whomever is in power.

In another publication, Bondarenko claims that the essence of the plan is to offer up Ukraine as a Western colony. He writes, "Let us call things by their proper names: the essence of the deal is that you (the West) help us to stop Putin, and we agree to be your colony."

Nuclear weapons for Ukraine?

Since the announcement of the 'victory plan', Zelensky has openly mused that if Ukraine is not accepted into NATO membership, it may need to proceed to acquire nuclear weapons. (According to the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, post-Soviet Ukraine agreed to relinquish its nuclear weapons, and in exchange, it received billions of dollars of economic assistance from Russia and from the Western powers.)

This has all the appearance of naked blackmail of the Western governments. Strana.ua cites on Telegram on October 17 an anonymous European diplomat saying that such blackmail has gone so far as to irritate the Western sponsors and supporters of Kiev.

Another message by Strana on Telegram on October 17 cites its own journalist Denys Rafalsky who wrote, "Kiev's attempts to push the EU and the U.S. into steps that could increase tensions between them and the Russian Federation, up to and including direct hostilities, are causing growing apprehension and even rejection in Western countries. Statements by Zelensky such as those issued today about acquiring nuclear weapons only reinforce this trend. This is a potentially an extremely dangerous situation for Ukraine, as the country risks turning from a ‘defender of Europe’ stopping Russian troops on the continent's distant approaches into a reckless and dangerous source of threats and provocations risking nuclear war."

The well-known, anti-Russia German columnist Julian Röpcke has written in the German daily Bild, citing Ukrainian sources, that Ukraine is seriously discussing the development of a nuclear weapons program. He writes that a senior Ukrainian official told him several months ago that Ukraine would not accept another Russian operation targeting Kiev and its surroundings. In such a case, Ukraine would be forced to acquire its nuclear arsenal. The unnamed official said that Ukraine has the materials and the knowledge for this, and that the first bomb, if ordered, could be manufactured in just a few weeks.

Scientists in Russia and elsewhere dismiss the claim that such a weapon could be quickly manufactured, but some do say that a missile or rocket could be used to deliver a 'dirty bomb', that is, a bomb loaded with nuclear waste contamination.

More conscripted bodies for war

Meanwhile, Zelensky stated on October 22 that his government's Western allies are demanding that Kiev step up military conscriptions, including by lowering the age of conscription from its present 25 years of age to 18.

According to an advisor to the Office of the President of Ukraine, Serhiy Leshchenko, writing on Telegram on October 15, U.S. politicians of both parties are among those calling for this. He writes, "The partners' argument is as follows: During the U.S. war in Vietnam, men were conscripted as of the age of 19. Today, the Americans are hinting that Western weapons supply alone is not enough [to fight and prevail over the Russian armed forces]. Conscription is needed as of the age of 18."

Leshchenko concludes his message in writing that Zelensky has not lost hope that US politicians can be persuaded to continue providing weapons and funding without Ukraine lowering the age of conscription. For now, this is Zelensky's public stance before the Ukrainian population.

Women soldiers for the Ukraine army?

Former Ukrainian Armed Forces chief and current Ukrainian ambassador to London, General Valeriy Zaluzhny, has thrown his own two cents into the discussion. Previously, he has stated his support for lowering the age of conscription to 18 "only if absolutely necessary and when there is a direct threat to the existence of the state as such". Now, a news report by Ukraine media outlet Hromadske [Public] on October 18 reported that in a speech to the pro-war 'Chatham House' think tank in London, Zaluzhny was asked if it was true that Ukraine may begin conscripting "half a million" women to fill the shortfall of armed forces personnel and replied "we will certainly do it" if this were needed. He said this would be done in the name of "defending Europe".

Zaluzhny has also said that for the time being, it is effectively impossible for Ukraine to get out of a protracted war with Russia because that would "play into Russia's hands". He explained, "We would end up in a state of protracted war, and a way out of such a war seems almost impossible [to imagine]."

The good general did not explain who would fight in such a protracted war, where it would obtain its weapons, and who would pay for it all. But his statement does say a lot about the man's mindset. Simply put, the Ukrainian ambassador in London proposes to sacrifice Ukrainian men and women in a war that he recognizes cannot be won. He proposes to do that for the sake of ‘saving Europe’. In plain English, he says such sacrifices are needed for the sake of preserving the hegemony of the Western powers in the world. Even colonial administrations in the earlier history of Europe, during the 19^th and 20^th centuries, did not typically voice such servility.

Oleksandr Dubinsky, a Ukrainian nationalist and legislator who earlier quit Zelensky's political party (electoral machine) commented wryly on Telegram on October 20 about the speech by Zaluzhny in London. "Conscription of men, clearly this is needed. Of women, yes, in the name of saving Europe. No objection there, either. But don't forget the youth! Officials in Berlin in 1945 acted much more decisively!", he mocked, referring to the mobilizations of Hitler youth groups during the last-ditch stand in the city of the dying Hitler regime.

At present, there are some 60,000 women in the armed forces of Ukraine. Most act as cooks, orderlies, and in other such support roles. Some act as snipers.

Sacrificing the youth of Ukraine for warfare

Tragically, Ukrainian society has already been forced into the military mobilization of youth. The leader of the fascist Brotherhood party, Dmytro Korchynsky, declared on October 22 that the age of military mobilization should be lowered to 14 should Ukraine find itself "on the verge of destruction". He also referred to the experience of some African countries, where child soldiers are drawn into paramilitary forces. He suggested drawing on the experience of "the many progressive countries of the world, for example, in Central Africa", where youth are encouraged to join paramilitary units from the age of 12 and older.

There are several far-right and neo-Nazi paramilitary groups in Ukraine which already recruit and train children and youth. The neo-Nazi 'Azov' paramilitary force has for long run training camps (Azovets) for children. Similar camps are run by the aforementioned Brotherhood and by the neo-Nazi 'Right Sector' force. Typically, they train children, orphans, and youth who then go on to volunteer for the armed forces at the age of 18.

Without waiting for such an alarming eventuality, growing numbers of Ukrainian mothers are choosing to flee Ukraine with their children. In mid-October, Ukrainian legislator Nina Yuzhanina stated that according to her best estimate, some 300,000 children left Ukraine with their mothers on the eve of the beginning of the new school year on September 1. Ukrainian law prohibits men of the age of military registration (18 to 55 years) from leaving the country, so the task of saving children and youth in this manner falls upon the mothers.

Lurid stories of North Korean soldiers preparing to fight alongside Russia

In mid-October, Ukrainian authorities began claiming that soldiers of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ('North Korea') are joining combat operations on the side of the Russian Federation. Ukrainian political analyst Taras Semenyuk stated on October 15 that according to his best estimate, there are 8,000 Korean soldiers being trained in Russia's Rostov Region as assault troops. He also claimed that officers of the armed forces of Iran and China are present in Rostov to assist Russia in military training and planning.

Semenyuk acknowledges that claims about the presence of Korean soldiers and Chinese and Iranian officers are being made with Western audiences in mind. "Such facts should force the West to be as fast and dynamic as possible in strengthening the Armed Forces of Ukraine."

Kirill Budanov, head of the Defense Ministry's intelligence service, talks about 11,000 Korean soldiers being prepared to enter combat operations in the Kursk region of Russia. Alexander Syrsky, the head of the AFU, talks about Russia preparing two brigades of some 6,000 soldiers of the DPRK.

On October 16, Zelensky said that Ukraine was now waging a war against three countries--the Russian Federation, Iran, and the DPRK.

Ukrainian legislator Artem Dmytruk, who fled to London nearly two months ago, has recently written that the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine is under orders to issue false information about North Koreans. "The NSDC has published a list of new narratives to be issued from the basement of the SBU [Ukraine security service]. You are considered to be working for the enemy if you deny any direct participation of North Korean soldiers in the war, if you acknowledge that the Russian Federation is ready for peace talks, or if you say Kiev is issuing nuclear blackmail. My favorite accusation is that you are working for the enemy if you say anything to discredit the victory plan of Zelensky."

Oleksiy Arestovich, a former advisor to the Office of the President, has said recently that Zelensky's ‘victory plan’ is unrealistic, including because the Global South perceives Kiev as a tool of the West. "The Global South sees us as a clientele of the West and does not consider us to be independent". He, too, fled Ukraine in early 2024. He led Ukraine's hopeful peace talks with Russia in the spring of 2022, which were sabotaged by British intervention.

Ukrainian economist Oleksiy Kushch has also reminded recently that Kiev is losing the battle for support from the Global South.

There is no evidence of soldiers from the DPRK participating in combat against Ukrainian forces. NATO itself is acknowledging this. Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked directly about the lurid stories during his October 24 press conference at the BRICS Summit meeting in Kazan, Russia. In reply, he simply reminded present journalists that the Russian Federation and the DPRK reached a mutual defense agreement during Putin's visit to the neighboring DPRK in April 2024. Informed observers are calling the stories a false flag operation.

On the whole, Zelensky's ‘victory plan’ combines nuclear blackmail, false accusations of the Korean and Iranian militaries aiding Russia's combat operations, and talk of mobilizing women into combat support roles to ‘defend Europe’. It is all the expression of the agony of a government that is chaotically seeking to involve other countries in salvaging the fading authority led by Zelensky.