President Volodymyr Zelensky was poised to deliver Friday’s opening remarks at an international conference on security policy, where Russia’s occupation of Ukraine was expected to be the main topic of discussion after a devastating war that had far-reaching consequences around the world.
About 40 heads of state and government, as well as politicians and security experts from nearly 100 countries, including the US, Europe and China, were expected to attend the three-day Munich Security Conference in Germany. Zelensky participates via video link.
For the first time in two decades, the conference organizers did not invite Russian officials. Western countries have sought to diplomatically isolate Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Russia’s war in Ukraine would overshadow the hearings. Western officials and analysts say the conflict is approaching a critical phase as it turns its second year next week.
According to Pistorius, the war is “not just a European conflict”, it has consequences far beyond the continent. Economies around the world were reeling from the effects of the war on grain supplies, energy prices and inflation.
US Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to join the leaders of France, Germany and Britain at the Munich Conference.
At the same conference last year, just days before Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine, Harris shared U.S. warnings that Russia was about to attack its neighbor and said: “difficult circumstances.”
In a speech scheduled for Saturday, the vice president will lay out what is at stake in the war and why it’s important to support the case for maintaining US support for Ukraine for as long as it takes, the White House said.
Ukraine is reliant on Western weapons to thwart Putin’s ambitions to seize control of large swaths of the country, a test of government resolve amid mounting financial costs.
Zelensky portrays Ukraine as a country defending Western values of freedom and democracy from tyranny and argues that his country must be properly prepared to face the much greater power of Russia. Western countries sided with him, but at times hesitated to fulfill his requests.
Kyiv, having received promises of tanks and more ammunition from the West, now hopes for fighter jets, but some countries have refrained from sending them.
Frans Timmermans, executive vice president of the European Union’s executive commission, said the 27-member EU is still united on the issue.
“I think everyone understands how important it is for Ukraine to win this war,” Timmermans said. “This is important for our Europe too, because Putin is not only attacking Ukraine, he is also attacking us in the sense that he does not support our values.”
He said it was important to clarify that Europe will support Ukraine no matter how long the war goes on. “Putin is in a quandary,” Timmermans said, adding that the Russian leader will be looking to put serious military pressure on Ukraine in the coming weeks and months.
Timmermans also expressed hope that China could put pressure on Russia to end the war.
