Shortly before the second anniversary of Russia’s war of aggression, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for more long-range weapons. “Long-range weapons do not exist. Russia has them, we have very few. That’s the whole truth. That is why our most important weapons are precisely our fighters», he said on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference. Ukraine’s actions are currently limited only by a lack of financial resources.
Immediately after the performance, Zelenskyj spoke about German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). However, while Scholz tried to be confident in his speech and spoke of a “silver lining” on the horizon, Zelensky warned of the incalculable consequences due to the “shortage of artificial weapons” and “self-weakening.”
‘2024 expects a response from all of us’ Zelensky said, according to the official translation. Ukraine has now resisted the Russian threat for 724 days. “Our resistance has prevented the destruction of the rules-based world.” With a view to a future without war, Russia must be a thing of the past because the country does not follow the rules. The international community can still achieve this “if we do everything we can”. But the question is: “how long will the world allow Russia to continue behaving like this?”
Security agreement with Germany and France
Zelensky thanked the security agreements signed with Germany and France on Friday, which promise long-term support and further arms supplies. But he also urgently warned of the consequences of the war: the longer it lasts, the greater the risk of expansion and further damage to the international order.
‘If we don’t act now, Putin will manage to turn the coming years into a catastrophe’ said Zelensky, who also warned of dangers for other European countries in his speech:
Scholz calls for more support
In his speech, Scholz had previously warned against weakening the will for common defense in NATO in the face of the Russian threat. “Let me also make it clear: any downplaying of NATO’s assistance guarantee will only benefit those who – like Putin – want to weaken us.” he said.
Scholz was clearly responding to statements by promising Republican American presidential candidate Donald Trump, who had made it clear during a campaign appearance that he would not provide American support to allies with low defense spending in the event of a Russian attack. Zelensky, for his part, emphasized that he had already invited Trump to Ukraine.
At the same time, Scholz urged EU partners to provide more financial aid to Ukraine, which was under attack by Russia – in the interests of their own security. For the current year, Germany has almost doubled its military aid to more than seven billion euros, with commitments for the coming years of six billion euros, he said. He would very much like to see “similar decisions taken in all EU capitals”.
“We Europeans must take much more care of our own security – now and in the future.” Scholz asked. He emphasized that German support for Kiev was “broad and extensive, but above all for the long term.” However, Scholz avoided asking whether Germany could still supply Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine in an interview after his speech. He only assured that Germany would always do enough to support Ukraine.
Ukraine had already officially requested the missiles, which have a range of 500 kilometers and high accuracy, from the federal government last May. In October, Scholz stated that Germany would not supply them for the time being. Behind this lies the fear that the cruise missiles could hit Russian territory.
Russian troops are still intact
Despite the enormous losses of our own, significant parts of the Russian armed forces are intact, Scholz said.
Putin is also sending more and more soldiers to the front. Two years after the start of the war, everyone should be asking whether enough is being done to signal to Putin that he is ready for a long period of crisis. He also said: “More than ever, we must ensure that our deterrence meets modern requirements.”
“Only if we all provide the necessary resources in solidarity and in the long term will our defense industry be able to reliably increase its production. And thus also contribute to our safety,” says Scholz. Since the war began, the US has provided Ukraine with just over $20 billion in military aid per year – with a gross domestic product of $28 trillion.
As in other countries, there are “critical voices in Germany who wonder: should we not spend the money for other purposes,” the Chancellor admitted. Moscow fuels such doubts with targeted disinformation campaigns and propaganda on social media. “The money we spend on our security now and in the future is missing elsewhere. We feel that,” Scholz admitted. “But I also say: without safety, everything else is nothing.” (saw/sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
