President Volodymyr Zelensky told allies Thursday Ukraine must be in a position of strength before any peace talks with Russia, as he explained his "victory plan" to EU leaders and NATO defence chiefs in Brussels.
More than two and a half years into the war, Kyiv is slowly but steadily losing territory in its eastern Donbas region and under mounting pressure to forge an exit strategy -- which it says must start with ramped-up Western support.
"Ukraine is ready for real diplomacy, but for it, we must be strong," Zelensky said as he met with the EU's 27 leaders.
"Russia will resort to diplomacy only when it sees that it cannot achieve anything by force," Zelensky added. "This is the plan. This is exactly what's needed, and we must create the right conditions to end this war."
The Ukrainian leader has travelled to Washington, Paris, Berlin, Rome and London to promote his initiative, but it has yet to earn backing from Western capitals -- and its plea for an immediate invitation to join NATO is widely viewed as unrealistic.
Zelensky said after his EU talks that a large number of member states had voiced their "full support" for Kyiv.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola told reporters the bloc was "unequivocally reaffirming" its support for Ukraine and saw Zelensky's "victory plan as the way forward".
The EU recently approved a plan to loan Ukraine up to 35 billion euros ($38 billion) backed by frozen Russian assets -- part of a bigger $50 billion initiative agreed by G7 powers in June.
But there were dissenting voices too.
Hungary's Moscow-friendly Prime Minister Viktor Orban posted on Facebook that Zelensky's roadmap was "beyond terrifying", urging France and Germany "on behalf of the entire European Union, to start negotiations with the Russians as soon as possible".
Zelensky was later to join defence ministers for the first of two days of talks between NATO's 32 member states, holding a joint press conference with alliance chief Mark Rutte.
While calling it a "strong signal," the NATO secretary-general cautioned ahead of time he was not endorsing Zelensky's "whole plan".
Zelensky's proposal also rejects any territorial concessions, calls for Western allies to lift restrictions on using donated long-range weapons to target Russian military sites and suggests deploying a "non-nuclear strategic deterrence package" on Ukrainian territory.
- 'Position of strength' -
NATO countries have declared Ukraine to be on an "irreversible path" to membership.
But the United States and Germany have led opposition to immediate entry, believing it would effectively put the alliance at war with nuclear-armed Russia.
Rutte reiterated the alliance's line Thursday saying only that "Ukraine will be a member of NATO in the future".
"Exactly about the when -- I cannot answer that now," Rutte said.
The US position is unlikely to shift whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris wins the White House on November 5 -- though there are fears a second Trump term could upend the support Ukraine receives from NATO's biggest power.
Ukraine's allies are well aware that time is of the essence, with the outlook on the battlefield bleak.
Rutte said NATO's focus remained on keeping "massive military aid moving into Ukraine" in order "to make sure that if ever one day Zelensky and his team decide to discuss with Russia how to end this, that he will do this from a position of strength".
But despite Ukraine's plea for stepped-up air defence systems -- as Russian forces pound its cities and infrastructure -- no new announcements were expected from NATO this week.
- 'Various ways to define victory' -
Some at NATO argue the setbacks inflicted on Russian President Vladimir Putin since the invasion are already sufficient to justify seeking a negotiated outcome -- rather than letting the war drag on indefinitely.
"There are various ways to define victory or to define defeat," said one NATO official.
On the eve of the NATO meeting, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for exploring ways to end the war -- potentially including talks with Putin.
But according to an alliance diplomat, other voices still fear that anything short of an outright victory for Kyiv would spell "disaster" -- ensuring that an emboldened Russia does not stop there.