At the Munich Security Conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Western allies to speed up their military support for his country, warning that any delays would play into Russia’s hands. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz echoed his call, urging allies with Leopard battle tanks to send them immediately as efforts to equip Ukraine with the weapons stalled. Scholz said Germany would do what it could “to make this decision easier for our partners”, such as training Ukrainian soldiers or helping with logistics.
Zelenskyy has argued that Ukraine needs to be properly equipped to fend off Russia’s much bigger force, and Western countries have sided with him. However, they have been slow to meet his requests, such as supplying billions of dollars of military aid and fighter jets. The Ukrainian president warned that Moscow “can still destroy many lives” and urged the West to “hurry up”.
The Munich Security Conference is the latest snub of Russia, which began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. About 40 heads of state and government as well as other politicians and security experts from almost 100 countries are due to attend the three-day gathering in Munich. Zelenskyy has promised that his country will ultimately prevail over Moscow’s aggression and even predicted that victory will happen this year. He has urged the West to move quickly, as “it’s speed that life depends on”.