As the Russian offensive continues strongly in the east, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky on Friday called on his Western allies to “speed up” arms shipments to stop Moscow’s troops, nearly a year into the invasion.
“We have to speed up. Speed to conclude our agreements, speed of deliveries to strengthen our fight, speed of decisions to limit the Russian potential. There is no alternative to speed, because life depends on it,” he told the Munich Security Conference, which brings together political leaders and experts from around 100 countries.
After a year of war, there are no signs that the fighting will end anytime soon and the chances of a diplomatic resolution of the conflict are nil. Since the start of the offensive, the death toll has risen to tens of thousands and NATO fears a new Russian advance.
In this context, Zelensky also estimated that “there is no alternative to Ukrainian victory”, and denounced that the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, “is trying to buy time for his aggression”. “It is clear that Ukraine will not be his last stop. It will continue its offensive towards other former Soviet bloc states,” he said.
The head of the German government, Olaf Scholz, one of the figures at this three-day annual conference, assured Zelensky of Germany’s full support, both financial and humanitarian and military, and said that Berlin and its allies would support the Ukrainians “everything as long as necessary.”
The German president has asked Western countries that can send tanks to Kiev “to really do it now”.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also urged Western allies to increase their support for Ukrainian forces. “We must step up our support and efforts to help (Ukraine) and enable a counter-offensive,” he said at the security summit.
Macron admitted that no one will be able to “change the geography of Russia”, that it will continue to belong to Europe and that, consequently, there will be no lasting peace on the continent until the Russian question is resolved. However, he warned that this “is not the time for dialogue because Russia has chosen the path of war and has committed crimes.
“Russia cannot win the war, Russian aggression must fail. We cannot allow the use of violence to become a habit,” Macron said.
There was one point on which everyone agreed, and it concerned the inevitable prolongation of the war. “We are prepared for a protracted conflict,” Macron said.
And Jens Stoltenberg, the head of NATO, the western military alliance, said it was going to be “a long road”. “This can take many, many years,” the military warned.
More than 150 government representatives will meet at this meeting, where they will meet Wang Yi, the foreign minister of China, Russia’s uncomfortable partner.
Other attendees include US Vice President Kamala Harris; the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken; and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, who will step down at the end of this year.
European countries, especially Germany and France, are still hoping to get Moscow’s ally China to pressure President Vladimir Putin to end the war.
Scholz traveled to Beijing in November, where he met with President Xi Jinping. And France confirmed on Thursday that a visit by Emmanuel Macron to China “is being prepared” “in the first half of the year”.
After the interventions of Scholz and Macron, a round table was held on the possibility of prosecuting war crimes committed by Russia.
“It is illegal to attack another country. If someone does that, they cannot go unpunished,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said. “No country can feel safe if there is no criminal prosecution for this crime,” he noted.
Source: AFP, EFE and AP
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.