Zelensky: We must make security a reality again

MUNICH, GERMANY — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on nations to unite their efforts against Russia to restore the “rule-based world order” and make security “a reality again.”

Speaking from the main stage at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Zelensky said that the Russian war in Ukraine poses a threat to the whole world and requires a response from everyone.

“If we do not act now, Putin will manage to make the next years catastrophic for other nations. Intelligence communities are aware of this," Zelensky said.

Zelensky also praised Europe's actions in response to the biggest assault on a European nation since World War II, resulting in tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties and hundreds of thousands of military casualties.

“We have ruined the myth that Russian weapons supposedly have an advantage over Western ones. In reality, Russia is worse in all respects. That's why Putin turned to Iran and North Korea for help," the Ukrainian President said.

The EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine also demonstrated that, like the U.S., Europe can also be a force “that prevents chaos,” according to Zelensky.

He emphasized the importance of defense coalitions and security agreements between Western countries and Ukraine.

“We already have such agreements with the U.K., Germany, France — and this is just the beginning of implementing agreements based on the G7 security declaration,” Zelensky said.

Since the start of the war, the EU and its member states have provided over $96 billion in financial, military, and humanitarian support to Ukraine and have agreed to provide an additional $54 billion over the next four years.

Europe's aid to Ukraine also includes cyber support. Earlier in December, almost a dozen European countries and the U.S. launched a new system called the Tallinn Mechanism to continue supporting Ukraine’s cyber efforts.

This system is especially important now, as the U.S. Congress still debates the new aid package to Ukraine. In an interview with Recorded Future News earlier in February, the U.S.’s top cyber diplomat Nathaniel Fick said that the decision made on Capitol Hill wouldn't affect U.S. cyber aid, thanks to initiatives like the Tallinn Mechanism.

At the conference, Zelensky urged Ukraine’s allies to stand against Russia and not to be afraid to destroy what its president, Vladimir Putin, “is afraid to lose.”

“Putin must be deprived of any ability to manipulate the world,” Zelensky said. “And don’t ask Ukraine when the war will end; ask yourself why Putin is still able to continue it.”

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