BERLIN(Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday Kyiv and its Western supporters could make a Russian defeat in the war in Ukraine “irreversible” as early as this year and thanked Germany for being a “true friend” during a visit to Berlin.
Zelenskiy secured a large military boost on his visit, with the German government announcing a 2.7 billion euro ($3 billion) of military aid to Ukraine, its biggest such package since Russia’s invasion in February last year.
“Now is the time for us to determine the end of the war already this year, we can make the aggressor’s defeat irreversible already this year,” he said during a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Germany, which is Europe’s largest economy, faced criticism at the start of the war for what some called a hesitant response, but it has become one of Ukraine’s biggest providers of financial and military assistance. Ukraine is expected to launch a major counteroffensive in the coming weeks, attempting to recapture parts of the eastern and southern parts of the country from Russian forces.
President Zelensky said on his first visit to Germany since the Russian invasion began that Kiev was ready to discuss foreign peace initiatives from other countries, but that these proposals should be based on Ukraine’s position and peace plans.
“Any peace plan will be based on Ukraine’s proposal, because the war is on our territory,” he said, wearing characteristic khaki combat pants and a black sweater.
Kiev has ruled out any territorial concessions to Russia and said it wants every inch of its territory back. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and since last year claims to have annexed four other Ukrainian regions that Moscow now calls Russian land. “Ukraine is ready for peace. But she just demands, and with our support, that this freezes the war and achieves some form of peace at Russia’s direction.” It should not mean that,” Scholz said.
President Zelensky met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Pope Francis on Saturday. He is trying to enlist the help of Ukrainian financial and military backers to deal with the growing cost of living crisis in the country.
“If the (counter) offensive is not very successful, there is a risk of less support, but I don’t think that is the general view,” Zelensky said. “There are some countries that are considering it, but I don’t think they are helping Ukraine much during this period,” he added, without specifying which countries would be hesitant to help Ukraine.
Mr. Serensky visited Germany as a member of the Munich Security Council in February last year, just before the start of the war. German aid to Ukraine at the time was constrained by both its energy dependence on Russia and its pacifism born of the bloody history of the 20th century.
Increasing their support required massive political upheaval and rethinking, which Scholz called a “tipping point” in a landmark speech just days after the war began.
