MSC 2024: Ukraine's Zelenskyy to rally leaders for support
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is opening the discussion at the Munich Security Conference, after which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to rally Western leaders for support. DW has the latest.
Guests arrive at the main entrance to the Bayerischer Hof, the venue for the Munich Security Conference
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is to open the discussion at the Munich Security Conference Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to call on the world to support his war-torn country
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)