Munich, Germany, Feb 17 (EFE).- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that there is \u201cno alternative\u201d to his country\u2019s victory over Russian invading forces, as he urged Western allies to speed up deliveries of much needed military support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zelenskyy was speaking during the opening of a two-day international security conference being held in the southern German city of Munich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have no alternative but to defeat the Russian ‘goliath’. “Unfortunately we do not yet have the ‘sling’ – but hopefully that is only temporary,” the Ukrainian president said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We need to hurry up. We need speed \u2014 speed of our agreements, speed of our delivery (\u2026) speed of decisions to limit Russian potential,” Zelenskyy added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the Ukrainian leader called for more urgency, German chancellor Olaf Scholz warned that \u201ca long war awaits us,\u201d urging Western allies to accelerate provisions of German-made Leopard tanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine\u2019s president has also been pressuring Western allies to step up its military support in the form of fighter jets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zelenskyy said that Russia\u2019s defeat was within reach nearly a year after Russian president Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of its neighbor on February 24, 2022, a seismic event that has dramatically altered the security and political landscape in Europe and brought forward Ukraine\u2019s ambitions to join the European Union and Nato.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is no alternative to Ukrainian victory \u2026 No alternative to Ukraine in the EU. No alternative to Ukraine in Nato,\u201d Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian leader also dismissed the possibility of making concessions to Moscow over territories it has occupied in eastern Ukraine, as doing so would only embolden Putin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe\u2019s going to continue his movement all the way\u2026including all the other states that at some point in time were part of the Soviet bloc,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegates from 96 countries are attending the annual meeting in Munich, including US vice president Kamala Harris, French president Emmanuel Macron and Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg, which this year will focus on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. EFE
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