Video speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the participants of the Munich Security Conference, February 17, 2023.
Munich (Germany) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today in a video speech at the opening of the three-day Munich Security Conference thanked all those who help his country in the fight against Russia. Zelensky compared Ukraine to the biblical David, who defeated a much bigger and stronger Goliath. He added that Russia must not win like Goliath, therefore it is necessary to speed up and strengthen the supply of weapons to Ukraine.
Advertisement'; }
Photogallery: Munich Security Conference
Zelenskyy told the participants of the conference that Russia's behavior clearly shows that it does not want to stop in Ukraine. According to Zelensky, Ukraine has no other option but to win, join the North Atlantic Alliance and become part of the European Union.
“Thank you to everyone who provided David with a slingshot,” Zelensky noted, adding that Goliath could fall this year. . “There must be no alternative but the victory of Ukraine,” declared its president. “There is no alternative to our unity, there is no alternative to the liberation of our country and our people,” he said.
According to the Ukrainian president, it is especially necessary now to act quickly and speed up the delivery of weapons to Ukraine as much as possible. He pointed out that any delay by the West is being used by Russia to its advantage and to cause more damage to Ukraine, and that while Western countries are discussing the supply of tanks to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is considering how to tighten the noose around Moldova.
In the subsequent debate, Zelenskyi also addressed the topic of corruption, which is rooted in Ukraine and which the West had already blamed for Kyiv before the war. According to the Ukrainian president, the country wants to solve this problem after the war.
Scholz: Arms supplies to Ukraine are not prolonging the war, on the contrary
Arms deliveries to Ukraine, which has been facing a Russian invasion for a year, are not prolonging the war, on the contrary. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced this at the start of the Munich Security Conference today. According to the chancellor, Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot win with his power ambitions at the expense of his neighbors, so Ukraine can rely on Berlin for further support. At the same time, Scholz called on the Western allies to join the German supply of tanks to Ukraine as quickly as possible.
“I am absolutely sure that Putin never expected that the West could stand up to Russian aggression so unitedly,” said Scholz . According to the chancellor, German support to Ukraine, including the provision of modern weapons, will continue as long as necessary. “However, we will always act in such a way as not to escalate the conflict,” he said. Berlin has been assuring for a long time that it wants to prevent the spread of the war to other countries.
“Putin's revisionism cannot win,” he said. In his speech, the chancellor emphasized that Germany, since the beginning of the invasion, had to overcome a number of restrictions that it had set for itself in its foreign policy in the post-war years. The main one was the decision to provide weapons to Ukraine at all, which it initially refused. Scholz also pointed out that Germany is among the countries in Europe that help Ukraine the most.
Ukrainians defend their freedom and pay a very high price for it, which is why, according to the chancellor, Germany supports Kiev financially, militarily and humanitarianly as needed. “Last year we accepted more than a million Ukrainian refugees,” he said.
Germany has also decided to hand over modern Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. These tanks have also been promised by other countries. Scholz noted that some states would eventually not provide modern versions of these tanks like Germany, at the same time he called on the Allies to join Berlin in supplying tanks. “Those who can supply such tanks should really do so now,” he said. Without elaborating, he said that he expects the first tanks to be handed over very soon.
At the end of January, Germany promised to hand over 14 Leopard tanks in the modern version of the 2A6 to Ukraine in the first step. Together with the allies, Berlin wants to create one battalion of these leopards, which in the Ukrainian army means 31 machines. Poland and its allies are also preparing another battalion of leopards from older versions. According to Warsaw's current statements, this battalion is already complete. Poland, together with Germany, also started training Ukrainian tankers.
The training of Ukrainian tankers in Germany was discussed today in Munich by Scholz, who described it, among other things, as a step to make it easier for the allied countries to make a decision on the supply of tanks.
In his speech, Scholz also addressed Germany's responsibility for European security, when he said that Berlin is aware of its role. He also said that Germany wants to spend two percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense in the long term, as NATO countries have pledged. Last year, in response to the Russian invasion, the chancellor announced in parliament that Germany wants to immediately invest two percent of GDP per year in defense. However, it has not yet achieved this goal. German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said last December that the fulfillment of this commitment will be open this year. According to the chancellor, however, the country has already started modernizing the army, which received a special fund of 100 billion euros (2.4 trillion CZK) for the purchase of modern weapons.
Macron: Russia broke the taboo and chose war instead of negotiations
h3>
By attacking Ukraine, Russia broke many taboos and decided on war instead of negotiations, said French President Emmanuel Macron in a speech at the Munich conference. He added that the invasion of Ukraine is an example of new imperialism and new colonialism.
“There is no justification for attacking Ukraine. What we are seeing in Ukraine now is new imperialism,” Macron said. “A taboo was broken with the invasion of Ukraine. And this taboo was broken by a member of the UN Security Council,” he said, adding that Russia is today a power that causes imbalance in the world.
Macron identified attacks on civilians, the destruction of civil and energy infrastructure, and nuclear threats as taboos that the regime of Russian authoritarian President Vladimir Putin broke. “We must also not underestimate the role of Iran,” he said. Tehran provided the Russian army with drones, with which Russia attacks Ukrainian cities.
Macron, in addition to the necessary support for Ukraine, also pointed to the future. “No one will change the geography of Russia, Russia will always be part of Europe,” said the French president. He noted that he will always support dialogue, but now it is not possible because Russia rejects it. “Russia has now chosen war,” he said. “It is clear that Russia started this war and that Russia must not win this war,” he emphasized.
According to Macron, the allies must now intensify military aid to Kiev so that the Ukrainian army can liberate the occupied regions and push out the Russian soldiers. Macron also pointed out that the conflict could be long and that Europe should strengthen its defense and the capacities of its arms industry for the sake of its security.
