Yulia Navalnaya and Volodymyr Zelensky Make Emotional Pleas at Munich Security Conference; Accuse Putin of Continuing Aggression

It only took two performances and then everyone was on board.

Yulia Navalnaya appeared on a stage in Munich on Friday afternoon, moments after hearing that her husband, opposition politician Alexei Navalny, had died in a Russian prison camp. She didn’t quite believe it yet, she said, with tears in her eyes. After all, you can never believe the Russian regime.

Many government leaders were still on their way to the annual security conference in Bavaria. And it was as if Russian President Vladimir Putin was sending a macabre message that whatever was said in Munich, he would simply continue his brutal course of action.

Also read
Navalny’s murder is Putin’s middle finger to Russia and the rest of the world

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday morning at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel that Navalny’s death proves that Putin will continue to challenge the international order. “Putin kills whoever he wants, be it an opposition leader or anyone else. After the death of Alexei Navalny, it is absurd to see Putin as the so-called legitimate leader of Russia.”

A victory for Putin would be “catastrophic” not only for Ukraine but also for other countries, Zelensky said. He therefore urged his audience to do more for Ukraine. “Don’t keep asking when the war will end, ask yourself why Putin is still able to continue.” A few hours earlier, Ukrainian soldiers had declared the fall of the small town of Avdiivka, which had been fought over for months.

Artificial deficiency

“Ukraine created an artificial shortage of weapons [op te dringen], in particular a shortage of artillery and long-range weapons, Putin is able to adapt to the current intensity of the war. The self-mutilation of democracy undermines our collective achievements.”

Zelensky and Navalnaya made it clear, for those who needed a refresher, that even after his massive invasion of Ukraine, Putin will stop at nothing and has no intention of stopping. “Dictators don’t go on vacation,” Zelensky said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a press conference during the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. Photo Tobias Schwarz / AFP

Navalnaya’s tears and Zelensky’s exhortations gave the conference a different charge than the meeting a year ago. On the first anniversary of the war, the Ukrainian coalition in Munich was determined. “We are not giving up,” Western government leaders said in belligerent unison. Ukraine had surprised everyone by holding out for a year, an offensive was being prepared.

President UkraineVolodymyr Zelensky Don’t keep asking when the war will end, ask yourself why Putin is still able to continue

The offensive has now ended in a front line hundreds of kilometers long with little movement, but where the Ukrainian army is having a hard time – see Avdiivka. Two years after the major Russian attack, concerns prevailed in Munich. About the continued aggression. About the faltering support from the US. About the prospect that Donald Trump could win the election and then cause tensions in NATO. Zelensky offered Trump an excursion to the front so he could experience a “real war” with his own eyes.

Also read
The completely destroyed town of Avdiivka has also fallen into Russian hands. “Dear God, what are we being punished for?”

And then there was that other war, to which Europe is emotionally connected, but where a divided Europe does not play a major role at the moment. In countless meetings in Munich, the search for the beginning of the end of the Gaza war continued – without a breakthrough. The elements for a solution have been on the table for a long time: liberation of the hostages, more humanitarian aid, a ceasefire, and then, in the long term, a Palestinian state. The destination is clear, but the route was not found in Munich either.

Atlantic connection

The Munich conference has been a place to celebrate Atlantic solidarity for sixty years and attracts many American politicians. This year the American delegation was particularly large. In addition to Vice President Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Republican senators had also flown to Munich.

The conversation between Europe and the US was different than usual. Originally the Americans took the lead in supporting Ukraine and encouraged the Europeans to do their part, but now the roles were reversed. Congress has been wrangling for months over a crucial $60 billion aid package for Ukraine – money for weapons that Ukraine needs to hold on. Now Europe tried to encourage the US.

Comparison with the 1930s

That led to almost amusing scenes. In one forum, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg took aim at Republican Senator Pete Ricketts (Nebraska). Kallas immediately drew a comparison with the 1930s. “History rhymes. We saw this way back in the 1930s. We also had American isolationism then, we didn’t stop an aggressor when we still had the chance to do so and then we saw aggression spread around the world. Let’s learn from that history.”

Ricketts first played the ball back: there are still many European countries that do not spend enough on defense. Moreover: democracy is a messy process. He sought help from Winston Churchill: sooner or later, this one would have noted, America will do the right thing, after all other options have been exhausted. Sooner or later, Ricketts believed, that help will come.

Also read
Biden’s old-fashioned transatlantic love is the exception in the US, not Trump’s isolationism

Stoltenberg acknowledged that not all countries meet the NATO defense standard, but underlined that Europe is now doing more for Ukraine than the US. “It’s not about doing the right thing, it’s about doing it quickly. It’s urgent. Every week of delay means more deaths at the front in Ukraine. […] We have a burden sharing (‘burden sharing‘) between the US, Europe and Canada and now it is up to the US to deliver what it has promised.”

Peace talks in Ukraine

Trump wasn’t in Munich, but his ideas were there. Republican Senator JD Vance (Ohio), an orthodox Trumpian, said on Sunday that he had heard a lot of concerns about Trump. No need, he thought. “No, I don’t think we should withdraw from NATO, no, I don’t think we should withdraw from Europe. But, yes, Europe must finally realize that the US should focus more on Asia.”

And so Europe must take a greater share in its own defense. According to him, that was Trump’s central message when he suggested last week that he would not support European countries that do not spend enough money on defense in a conflict with Russia.

In the event of a second Trump presidency, the US relationship with Kyiv, Moscow and Europe will in any case be recalibrated

Vance also made a plea to move quickly toward peace talks in Ukraine. Vance, who does not speak for Trump, but often says what Trump thinks, thinks that given a shortage of ammunition and a shortage of Ukrainian manpower, there is no other option than to quickly end the conflict. He called Putin one „bad guy”but believes that the US should also talk to the bad guys if necessary to advance American interests.

The Western Ukraine coalition led by President Biden has been adhering to the line for months that peace talks are not on the agenda now and that it is up to the leadership in Kyiv to determine when the time for talks has come. If Ukraine were to enter into discussions with Putin now, he would appear at the negotiating table with enormous territorial gains in his pocket.

So even if Trump does not take the demolition hammer to NATO in a second presidency, judging by Vance, the relationship with Kyiv, Moscow and Europe will in any case be recalibrated.

Also read
At the security conference in Munich, Rutte is constantly asked about his NATO ambitions. ‘I should have shut up’

Share Email the editor
2024-02-18 15:10:47
#Putins #brutal #progress #brings #divided #West #attention #Munich