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French President Emmanuel Macron said Kyiv’s Western allies were “ready for a prolonged conflict” in Ukraine as world leaders gathered at the Munich Security Conference on Friday to renew their vow to back Kyiv against Russian forces ahead of the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion. Follow FRANCE 24 for the latest updates. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
3:20pm: ‘Not the time for dialogue’ with Putin, says Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron has urged allies to intensify their military support for Ukraine to help the country launch a counter-offensive against Russia, saying now is “not the time for dialogue” with Moscow.
“We absolutely need to intensify our support for (…) the Ukrainian people and its army and help them to launch a counter-offensive, which alone can allow credible negotiations,” Macron said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference.
????”No one in this room has an answer to this: There is not complete and long-term peace in our continent as long as the Russian matter goes unresolved.”
French President @EmmanuelMacron speaks at the Munich Security Conference ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/s9eDxwevzV
— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) February 17, 2023
The French president said Kyiv’s Western allies were “ready for a prolonged conflict” in Ukraine.
“It is not the time for dialogue because we have a Russia which has chosen war, further intensify this war, and has chosen to go as far as committing war crimes and attacking civilian infrastructures,” he said.
Macron also urged European countries to “ramp up military production capabilities”, calling for an “ambitious defence investment programme”.
2:50pm: Send your tanks now, Germany’s Scholz tells allies in U-turn
Allies with available battle tanks should send them to Ukraine “now”, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has told the Munich Security Conference, speaking immediately after Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Those who can send such battle tanks should really do so now,” Scholz said, adding that he would be “intensively campaigning” for allies to move on the issue. His call marked a dramatic reversal of roles as the German leader had for months been under pressure from allies to approve the delivery of German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
Germany finally relented in January, saying it would send Kyiv a company of 14 Leopard 2 tanks and work with allies to assemble two tank battalions for Ukraine. However, subsequent talks with NATO partners struggled to make up the numbers for a full battalion.
On Wednesday, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius admitted that allies have only mustered “half a battalion” of Leopard 2 tanks so far – including the 14 from Germany itself and three from Portugal.
2:35pm: ‘No alternative to Ukrainian victory,’ Zelensky tells Munich conference
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has urged allies to “hurry up” with their support for Kyiv in a video-link address to the Munich Security Conference, saying there is “no alternative to Ukrainian victory”.
“We need to hurry up. We need speed – speed of our agreements, speed of our delivery, speed of decisions to limit Russian potential. There is no alternative to speed because it is the speed that life depends on,” he said.
Zelensky said it was “obvious” that Ukraine would not be the last stop of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. He said the Kremlin was thinking of ways to “strangle” Moldova even as the West dithers over who should send battle tanks to Kyiv and how many.
“Delay has always been and still is a mistake,” he said, adding: “There is no alternative to Ukrainian victory… No alternative to Ukraine in the EU. No alternative to Ukraine in NATO.”
1:05pm: Ukraine’s Zelensky to open Munich conference focused on war
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to open the Munich Security Conference via video link, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and France’s President Emmanuel Macron also set to speak.
The spotlight of the conference will be on the Ukraine war, as world leaders gather to renew their vow to back Kyiv against Russian forces ahead of the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion.
Others attending the gathering include US Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
Russian delegates including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was a regular attendee at Munich in the past, have not been invited.
Representing Ukraine at the conference, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he planned talks with a series of top officials focused on weapons supplies. “The priorities will be speeding up the supply of arms and ammunition already promised to Ukraine, and the adoption of political decisions in the future on the provision of combat aircraft for Ukraine,” he said in an Instagram post.
6am: Kyiv seeking billions to counter war damage
Pictures of devastation in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion have sparked urgent questions over the country’s reconstruction. Kyiv is seeking billions of dollars for the reconstruction.
After a 30% contraction in its economy in 2022, Ukraine will need $38 billion by the end of year to cover its budget deficit alone.
On top of that, Kyiv said it will need $17 billion this year for urgent energy repairs, de-mining and to rebuild some of its critical infrastructure.
While the EU is expected to provide the lion’s share of funds to cover the budget deficit at $18 billion, and Washington a further $10 billion, Kyiv has yet to identify sources of funding to meet additional costs.
3:30am: US support for Ukraine solid, says senator en route to Munich
The US remains steadfast in its support for war-torn Ukraine, a leading Democratic senator told AFP before heading to the world’s largest global security conference in Germany.
“The eccentrics get press attention, but I think the strong solid central weight of even House Republicans is behind continuing to support Ukraine, so long as there are not corruption concerns,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, chairman of the powerful Budget Committee.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
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