MUNICH – “Words, words, just words,” sighed one VIP attendee at the Munich Security Conference as representatives of three European Union member states discussed security cooperation. “China will get the message: ‘No need to worry about us here,’” said another about the signals being sent from Bavaria. A lugubrious mood hung
Editor’s note: The following piece is a personal account of the Munich Security Conference from a Kyiv Independent reporter but does not purport to reflect the views of the publication. MUNICH – For three days every year, the space in front of the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in central Munich turns
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas also said that European countries should do more to support Ukraine against Russian aggression.
Ukraine has made additional security and military aid agreements during the Munich Security Conference, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 18.
Stubb said that he sees three steps for Ukraine’s European and transatlantic aspirations. The first is security agreements that are currently being signed by all G7 members and 31 countries, followed by EU membership, and finally NATO membership.
"We agreed on the need to maintain Ukraine-China contacts at all levels and continue our dialogue," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
The EU's collective economic power is by far superior to Russia, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told the Kyiv Independent on Feb. 17 in an interview at the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, adding that European nations must invest more in defense and support for Ukraine.
"We have identified at this point half a million rounds of 155 mm caliber and another 300,000 rounds of 122 mm caliber, which we will be able to deliver within weeks if we quickly find funding for that activity," Czech President Petr Pavel said at the Munich Security Conference.
The German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall signed a memorandum of intent with a Ukrainian company on the production of artillery shells directly in Ukraine, Rheinmetall said on Feb. 17.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 17, with Ukraine's "security and resilience" as the chief topics of discussion, the Presidential Office said.
"This war is about much more than two states fighting over a territory. This war is about the question of whether we'll allow an imperialist power to impose its will on another state," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
Andriy Yermak, Ukraine's Presidential Office head, said that he considers press freedom "one of the most important parts of any democratic society" and "one of the values we are fighting for" when asked about his personal reaction to an investigation accusing the country's security service of surveilling independent journalists.
"Held a meeting with the U.S. Senate delegation in Munich. We spoke about Ukraine's main defense needs, namely artillery systems and shells, long-range weapons, electronic warfare systems, and air defense support," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram.
Kyiv's partners "need outside-the-box thinking" regarding providing Ukraine with sufficient weaponry to repel Russia's full-scale invasion, ex-NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 17.
“We are discussing intensely now with (President) Volodymyr Zelensky’s team on coming up with security guarantees... And I’m cautiously optimistic that we can close these discussions pretty soon,” Rutte said in press comments at the Munich Security Conference.
"Imagine if America turned our back on Ukraine and abandoned our NATO allies and abandoned our treaty commitments," Kamala Harris said during the Munich Security Conference.
President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to France and Germany on Feb. 16-17 to participate in the Munich Security Conference and meet with several European leaders, the Presidential Office announced on Feb. 15.
Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, said on Feb.14 that former President Petro Poroshenko had not submitted "any relevant documents" that would confirm his reported meetings with Western leaders at the Munich Security Conference, where he was allegedly not allowed to attend.
The leader of the European Solidarity opposition party said he planned to meet Western leaders during the security-focused conference that will take place in Germany later this week.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called upon the West to stand by Ukraine as Russia threatens to further invade it, in an emotional address to the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 19. He criticized the ambivalent attitude of countries who stay silent, saying those who don’t stand by Ukraine should “think
