On Saturday, Volodymyr Zelensky showed participants in the conference hall of the Bayerischer Hof hotel photographs and visualizations of Russia's latest attacks on Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure.
In the second part of the format, NATO chief Mark Rutte and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola joined the Ukrainian leader. However, the first part consisted of Zelensky's speech, in which the president calculated that the Russians had attacked with more than 6,000 drones in January.
"There is no power plant in Ukraine that has not been damaged by Russian attacks," Zelensky continued, adding that without Western support, the situation would be even worse. "Thank you, Mark," he said, addressing the NATO Secretary General sitting in the front row.
He expressed his gratitude for American and European support, especially from Norway and the Netherlands, which sent missiles for the Patriot air defense systems in the first days after his request. The Ukrainians "often deployed them in the last minutes" before Moscow's attacks. He also added a call for increased military support.
Iran, North Korea, and China
Zelensky also stated that, in addition to Russia, Ukraine is also at war with Iran, as it has been supplying Moscow's forces with Shahed drones since the beginning of the war. "The Iranian regime must be stopped as soon as possible," he urged. However, he added that thanks to Ukrainian drone production, the Shaheds will soon be "irrelevant."
Moscow is similarly supported by North Korea and China, against which, according to him, action must be taken. As an example, he cited sanctions against Russia's shadow fleet, which "work."
He discussed tankers smuggling Russian oil with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
"It is the Ukrainians who are holding the European front, with independent Poland and the free Baltic states behind our people, Moldova and Romania without dictatorship, and even one Viktor can think about how to grow his belly and not his army to stop Russian tanks from returning to the streets of Budapest," he said, referring to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Russia must not be given hope
According to Zelensky, Russia is losing 156 soldiers per square kilometer. However, this does not prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from continuing the war. "Can you imagine Putin without war?" he asked, saying that the Kremlin leader "prefers to consult with Tsar Peter the Great and Tsarina Catherine rather than any living person."
Russia "must not be allowed to hope that the invasion will pass without consequences," Zelensky said. He praised the trilateral talks led by the United States, although he noted that he "often feels that the negotiating parties are talking about different issues."
The US often asks what concessions Ukraine can make. "But they don't ask Russia," he noted. However, he expressed hope that next week's talks in Geneva, Switzerland, will be serious and substantial in bringing peace closer.
The Russian delegation in Geneva will be led by Putin's adviser Vladimir Medinsky, which is a change from the talks in Abu Dhabi, where the team was led by military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov. Kyiv has previously criticized Medinsky's approach to the talks and accused him of giving the Ukrainian team history lessons instead of substantive negotiations.
Putin must be taken seriously
"As long as there is a dictator in Moscow who is willing to sacrifice so many of his own people, we must take him seriously," Rutte said, adding that defenders need as much military and other assistance as possible against such a force. He called on "everyone in a position of power," whether politicians or arms manufacturers, to help Ukraine.
According to the former Dutch prime minister, the Russians are suffering "insane losses" on the front, with 65,000 people killed in two months. Moscow has also reportedly seen a one-third drop in oil revenues and is "burning" funds from its sovereign wealth fund.
The Alliance and the US are "on the same page" when it comes to supporting peace talks, Rutte added.
Metsola pointed out that the EU has steadfastly supported Ukraine since the first days of the war, as evidenced by the upcoming 20th package of sanctions. Senator Roger Wicker announced that there is also a willingness in the US Congress to adopt "meaningful and effective" sanctions.
The President of the European Parliament continued by saying that Ukraine deserves security in the form of EU membership. "It would not be charity; we also need Ukraine," she noted.
Zelensky replied that Ukraine is ready for discussions on a free economic zone, which "could possibly lead to a compromise" with Russia. "Give us two months of truce and we will go to the polls," he added. However, according to him, Kyiv needs an exact date for joining the Union, otherwise Putin "will do whatever he wants."
(msc, reuters, sab)