MSC 2024: Ukraine's Zelenskyy rallies leaders for support

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has opened discussions at the Munich Security Conference. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also rallied Western leaders against the threat from Russia. DW has the latest.

Zelenskyy addressed the conference urging leaders to fight to maintain a rules-based order

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz opens discussions at the Munich Security Conference, saying Europe must be able to defend itself Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls on the world to support his war-torn country

Estonia’s PM says all NATO members are equal

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has stressed that all NATO members are equal after US President Donald Trump said Washington might not defend some members.

“There are big and small allies; everyone brings something to the table. That is what the alliance is all about,” she said.

“Time is working in Putin’s favor and against the rules-based order. So, everybody is looking at the United States. The stakes are high,” Kallas said, referring to the stalled US aid to Ukraine.

Earlier this week, the Estonian prime minister was placed on a wanted list by Russia because of her efforts to remove Soviet-era World War II monuments.

Stoltenberg says US must deliver ‘what they promised’ to Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking at a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference, called for the United States to deliver “what they have promised” to Ukraine, while a $60-billion package of military aid was blocked in Congress.

There was a “vital and urgent need for the US to decide on a package for Ukraine because they need that support”, Stoltenberg told the conference, adding: “So now it’s for the US to deliver what they have promised”.

He also said no member of the defense alliance is now at risk. “The world has become more dangerous but NATO has become stronger,” Stoltenberg said.

“All NATO allies have increased their defense spending. This year, we expect 18 NATO members to meet the 2% target,” he added.

Zelenskyy decries Ukraine’s ‘artificial’ weapons shortage

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his country’s lack of access to weapons was strengthening Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Unfortunately, keeping Ukraine in an artificial deficit of weapons, particularly in deficit of artillery and long-range capabilities, allows Putin to adapt to the current intensity of the war,” he said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference.

He made reference to the devastated eastern town of Avdiivka, from where Ukrainian troops withdrew as Ukraine faced acute shortages of ammunition, with US military aid delayed for months in Congress.

“Do not ask Ukraine when the war will end. Ask yourself, why is Putin still able to continue it?” Zelenskyy said.

Asked about the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the eastern city of Avdiivka, Zelenskyy said the decision was made to save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.

Zelenskyy calls on world to step up efforts against Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on his country’s supporters to step up efforts against Russian aggression and President Vladimir Putin.

“If we don’t act now, Putin will succeed in turning the next few years into a catastrophe,” he said at the Munich Security Conference.

Zelenskyy warned that the longer the war goes on, the greater the risk of expansion and further damage to the international order.

According to Zelenskyy, Russia has only one decisive advantage in its war of aggression against Ukraine. “Human life has no value for the Russian state,” Zelenskyy said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “kills whoever he wants,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the death of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The Ukrainian president said Ukraine’s battle to repel Russian troops was being held back by a lack of long-range weapons and artillery shells.

“Keeping Ukraine in the artificial deficits of weapons, particularly in deficit of artillery and long-range capabilities, allows Putin to adapt to the current intensity of the war.”

Europe must strengthen ability to defend itself, Scholz says

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, German Chancellor Olaf Scholzhas said Europe must strengthen its ability to defend itself to deter would-be aggressors regardless of who wins the upcoming US elections or how the war in Ukraine turns out.

“We Europeans must take much more care of our own security, now and in the future,” Scholz said. Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has hiked its spending on defense to 2% of output and will continue to hit that target, he added.

Germany is also discussing with allies France and Britain the development of distance-capable precision weapons in order to ensure its deterrence strategy remained cutting edge, Scholz said.

He also called on Europeans to match the billions spent by the United States in military aid to Ukraine. “A comparable effort must be the minimum that every European country undertakes,” he said.

However, Scholz avoided the question of whether Germany would supply Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. Germany is already doing a lot for Ukraine, he said when asked whether he would rule out a delivery.

According to the German chancellor, “Russia has not achieved any of its war aims” in Ukraine. However, despite “enormous own losses,” “significant parts of the Russian armed forces are intact,” Scholz said.

Zelenskyy tries to rally support for his war-torn country

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will seek to shake off war-weary allies and bolster financial and military support at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday at a critical juncture in his country’s struggle against Russia.

His speech to the conference, in which he is expected to seek immediate help for his soldiers, will take on added urgency after Ukraine withdrew from the frontline town of Avdiivka under pressure from Russian attacks.

It also comes a day after pacts were signed with France and Germany to maintain long-term defense support for Kyiv.

Zelenskyy last attended the Munich Security Conference two years ago. That was days before Russia invaded his country. Last year, he addressed the conference via video link.

What happened at the Munich Security Conference on Friday

Less than an hour before the official start of the Munich Security Conference, Russian officials announced that Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny had died in prison.

Navalny’s wife, Yulia, who was already in Munich when the news broke, urged the international community to fight the “horrific regime” in Russia.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the world was becoming increasingly divided despite “existential challenges” like the climate crisis.

US Vice President Kamal Harris has reassured allies that Washington would continue to take a leading role in global security. “In these unsettled times, it is clear America cannot retreat,” she said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held “candid and constructive” talks on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s war with Hamas are dominating the conversations, on stage and on the sidelines, among the 180 heads of state and security chiefs gathered in Munich.

dh/rc (AFP, AP,dpa, Reuters)