Ukrainian President Zelensky was at the Munich Security Conference, where he participated in a panel entitled “David in the Dnieper,” referring to the biblical story of David and Goliath. Although the title of the panel was intended to symbolize Ukraine’s struggle against a much larger and more powerful adversary, Zelensky criticized that this metaphor did not do justice to the scale of the war Ukraine is facing and asserted that the threat from Russia affects not only Ukraine but the entire European continent.
Zelensky noted that after a year of war, there is no sign that the fighting will end soon and that NATO fears a new Russian offensive in the spring. According to the Ukrainian president, the only way to resist Russian aggression is with weapons, and he regretted that Ukraine has not yet received the military aid promised by Western leaders.
In the corridors of the conference, Ukraine’s foreign minister explained that they would be particularly interested in receiving fighter jets from countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. However, arms deliveries to Ukraine are moving with leaden feet, and although the conference is all good words for Ukraine, promises of military aid have yet to materialize.
In this context, French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed strengthening NATO’s nuclear component, although he is aware of German reluctance in this regard. Macron insists that unity is necessary to jointly support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.