Russia Matters, 10/18/24

1. Volodymyr Zelenskyy asserted Oct. 17 that Ukraine had two options to deter further Russian aggression: becoming a nuclear power or joining NATO, which would guarantee protection from the military alliance’s members, NYT reported. The Ukrainian leader then later clarified during a news conference with NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte that Ukraine was not preparing to build nuclear weapons, according to NYT. When asked by a journalist how long it would take Ukraine to create a nuclear bomb, Zelenskyy responded: “Sometimes we create problems for ourselves. Right now, you are doing exactly that,” according to Media Zone. Vladimir Putin described Zelenskyy’s rhetoric as a provocation and asserted that Russia will not allow the creation of nuclear weapons by Ukraine under any circumstances, according to RIA Novosti.
2. This week Zelenskyy publicly unveiled his five-point “victory plan” to end the war by 2025. The first step of the plan involves Ukraine’s immediate invitation to NATO. The second point focuses on strengthening Ukraine’s security through guarantees allowing the use of long-range weapons for military strikes inside Russia and joint air defense operations with neighboring countries. The third and fourth points provide for the deployment of non-nuclear deterrence assets in Ukraine and for a post-war agreement for joint management of Ukraine’s critical resources. Finally, the plan calls for some U.S. military contingents in Europe to be replaced with Ukrainian troops after the war is over. Given the reaction to the plan in Washington and other Western capitals so far, it is unlikely that Zelenskyy will win the unanimous support of Kyiv’s allies for Ukraine’s immediate admittance into NATO. Countries such as Germany also oppose supplying longer-range weapons, according to Ukraine’s Korrespondent.net, even as Ukrainian forces continue to cede territory in the east, coming closer to losing the strategic town of Chasiv Yar this week.*
3. South Korean and Ukrainian officials have accused Moscow and Pyongyang of arranging for 10,000 or more North Korean soldiers to train in Russia to then fight in the Russian-Ukrainian war on Russia’s side, Bloomberg, Yonhap and Istories reported. The Kremlin has rejected these reports, describing them as an “information hoax,” according to Euronews. North Korea has previously been repeatedly accused of providing artillery ammunition and missiles for Russia’s war efforts.
4. Speaking to BRICS media ahead of the group’s summit on Oct. 22–24 in Russia, Vladimir Putin declared that “the United States is 15 years” too late to “stop China’s development.” Putin—who is to host Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi at the BRICS summit in Tatarstan—also declared that “in some areas, humanity cannot exist without the BRICS countries. I mean food markets, energy markets.”