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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, citing the recent deaths of Russian dissidents, said Russian President Vladimir V. Putin: It will continue to test the international order and oppose the idea of a negotiated settlement to war.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Zelenskiy said if Ukraine loses the war with Russia, it would be “catastrophic” not only for Kiev but also for other countries.
“Don’t ask Ukraine when the war will end,” he said. “Ask yourself why Putin can still do it.”
Two topics that have surfaced in nearly every discussion at annual meetings of world leaders are Russia and the potential weakening of transatlantic ties amid growing pessimism about Kiev’s ability to defeat Moscow. be.
Mr Zelenskiy’s speech on Saturday came as Ukrainian forces withdrew from their longtime stronghold of Avdiivka, handing Russian forces their first significant victory in nearly a year.
And it came a day after conference attendees were shaken by news that prominent dissident Alexei A. Navalny had died in Russia’s Arctic penal colony. Zelenskiy warned that this was a stark reminder of how Russia continues to test the Western-backed international rules-based order.
“This is Russia’s war against all rules,” Zelenskiy said. “But how long will the world leave Russia like this? This is the main question today.”
Zelenskiy’s impassioned appeal was in dramatic contrast to his previous appearance in Munich two years ago. At that moment, an invasion seemed inevitable, but European officials insisted Mr. Putin was calling a bluff, despite satellite evidence that he was building up troops. Even Mr. Zelenskyy, in a public appearance on the same stage he used on Saturday, said he did not believe Mr. Putin would dare to attack.
Mr. Zelensky’s message this year was that, with Mr. Navalny’s death on Friday and evidence of Russia’s military buildup, Europeans should believe that Mr. Putin will not stop at Ukraine’s borders.
Speaking to reporters at the conference, European and U.S. officials said they saw no evidence so far that Mr. Putin was seeking to bring NATO forces into the war. But European leaders have reiterated in recent weeks that Mr. Putin’s victory could embolden him to test the resolve of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), especially if the United States’ commitment to the alliance wavers. I’m starting to warn you.
European leaders are locked in a debate over how to ensure their own security after the November U.S. presidential election, in which former President Donald J. Trump, who last week invited the Russian invasion, is expected to be re-elected. , the mood of many people at the meeting was very gloomy. against NATO members who have not paid their fair share.
And European officials reiterated Washington’s previous inability to pass a $60 billion aid package for Ukraine that passed the Senate but is likely to be rejected by House Republicans. put pressure on U.S. officials.
“People are looking at us in disbelief,” one of the leaders of the American delegation there, who declined to discuss the record, said Saturday morning. “We have been talking about leading this fight, and for the last two days we have told European countries to come up with a Plan B to arm Ukraine.”
These discussions include, among other things, the possibility of forcing Germany to purchase American-made weapons and deliver them to the Ukrainian front if Congress cannot find the funds. But at the same time, military officials are discussing new technologies with their Ukrainian counterparts, including the possibility of supporting a new generation of unmanned aircraft that can fly in swarms over Russian positions.
Debate has also swirled in recent weeks about whether European countries should develop their own nuclear deterrents beyond those provided by the U.S. government and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in comments Saturday that such talk is “useless.” Questioning NATO’s nuclear umbrella, he argued, “will only weaken NATO at a time when we really need a reliable deterrent.”
Vice President Kamala Harris said after her meeting with Zelensky on Saturday that support from her and President Biden is “unwavering and unending.”
Mr. Zelenskiy responded by urging her to bring about a U.S. agreement on aid to Ukraine. “We need your solidarity right now,” he said.
In his speech, Zelenskiy called it a “myth” that Ukraine cannot win. “We can get our land back, but Putin could lose it.”
But he stressed there was no time to waste as the House of Representatives goes into a two-week recess without approval for aid to Ukraine. “Please remember, everyone, dictators don’t go on vacation,” he said. Told.
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