War in Ukraine: after Paris Zelensky returned to Germany, a meeting with Kamala Harris is planned

Having received security guarantees for Ukraine from Berlin and Paris, Vladimir Zelensky returns to Germany this Saturday. This morning he must reach out to Western leaders and secure widespread mobilization for his country, which is struggling with Russian troops. The Ukrainian president will increase the number of diplomatic meetings during the day: he is due to meet with American Vice President Kamala Harris and have a new tete-a-tete with Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

His speech to the geopolitical and defense elite at the Munich Security Conference is scheduled for approximately 9:30 a.m. This comes at a critical moment for Ukraine and its soldiers, who are under pressure from Russian attacks in the east, around the city of Avdiivka.

Release of help

Ukraine faces many challenges: Russian soldiers are going on the offensive, American military aid is still in limbo, and the Ukrainian army is short of men, weapons and ammunition. Kyiv has been hoping for months for a vote on a crucial bailout of about $60 billion passed by the government of Joe Biden, who is campaigning for a second term but has been hampered by Republican opposition under the influence of Donald Trump.

Failure to pass this aid to the US Congress would amount to a “gift to Putin”, Kamala Harris warned in a speech in Munich on Friday. Chancellor Scholz will also speak in Munich on Saturday, as will European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The European Union recently, with some difficulty, approved 50 billion euros in military aid over four years after Hungary lifted its veto.

A meeting of the foreign ministers of the G7 industrial powers is also due to take place on the sidelines of the conference.

Agreements have already been signed

On Friday, Vladimir Zelensky signed two security agreements, first with Berlin and then with Paris, designed to guarantee his country lasting support in its fight against Russian troops. Specifically, France pledges to provide Ukraine with “up to three billion euros” in additional assistance for 2024. This agreement, “concluded for a period of ten years,” mentions, among other things, increased “cooperation in the field of artillery.” These amounts will add to the approximately seven billion announced by Berlin.

These bilateral agreements are not an “alternative” solution to support from Washington, the Ukrainian leader emphasized in Paris. But he said he hoped it would “give the impetus to the United States” to release the expected aid. “Two years after the start of this terrible war, today we are sending a very clear signal to the Russian President (Vladimir Putin): we will not weaken our support for Ukraine,” Olaf Scholz warned during a press conference alongside Vladimir Zelensky.

But the latter’s European tour was overshadowed by the reported death in prison of Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s number one opponent, who already rules Russia with an iron fist, exacerbating tensions with Western countries and further destroying any hope of openness. to Moscow.