President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during the 2024 Munich Security Conference on February 17, 2024 in Munich, Germany.
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MUNICH, Germany (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is ready to take U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, a long-time skeptic of Washington’s support for Kiev, to Ukraine’s war-torn front lines.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Zelensky said that he had already welcomed the Republican front-runner to see firsthand the impact of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but that the decision was up to Trump.
“I invited him [Trump] public, but it depends on his wishes,” he responded to a question from the audience about whether Zelensky would ask Trump to come to Kiev.
“When Mr. Trump comes, I am ready to go to the front with him,” he added.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.
Trump was extremely critical of the US’s continued financial and military aid to Ukraine. He considered it a non-American issue and suggested he would allow Russia to “take over” parts of Ukraine if he were re-elected in November.
He also praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressed admiration for the Kremlin chief’s strongman stance, and said as recently as last weekend that he would “encourage” Putin to do what he can to NATO members who are failing to meet their funding obligations he wants.
However, Trump appeared to flip the script on Wednesday, saying at a campaign rally that he would do more to support Ukraine than incumbent President Joe Biden – a vocal supporter of funding Kiev.
The comments came just hours after Putin said on Wednesday that he would prefer to re-elect Biden in November, calling him a “more predictable” leader.
Increased support for Ukraine
Continued support for Kiev is a topic of heated debate in the United States, where a new $95 billion aid package – including $61 billion for Ukraine – was passed by the Democratic-led Senate on Tuesday. To become law, it must be approved by the Republican-led House of Representatives.
Nevertheless, Zelensky stressed on Saturday that continued and increased support for Ukraine is crucial not only for his country’s freedom, but also for that of the rest of Europe and the free world.
“There is no one for whom the ongoing war in Europe is not a threat,” he said. “This is Russia’s war against any rules at all.”
On Friday, Zelensky traveled to Germany, where he met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron and signed new bilateral security agreements with their countries.
The wartime president will also hold talks at the conference with US Vice President Kamala Harris, Czech President Petr Pavel, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, among others.
This comes after the European Union passed an additional 50 billion euros ($54 billion) funding law for Ukraine earlier this month, overcoming long-standing opposition from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Zelensky also used his speech to address the reported death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a Siberian penal colony, which he described as a murder.
“Putin kills whoever he wants, be it an opposition leader or anyone he sees as a target,” he said, adding that Putin “retains power through corruption and violence” and that Navalny’s death sends a clear message to the Those gathered are at the conference.
The Russian prison service reports have not yet been independently verified, but world leaders reacted to the news with shock and dismay on Friday.
US President Joe Biden said in a speech at the White House that “Putin is responsible”, while EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was “deeply disturbed and saddened”.
Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, received a standing ovation when she spoke at the Munich Security Conference shortly after the announcement, saying that Putin and his cronies “will be punished for what they have done to our country, to my family and to my husband.” .”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the West’s reaction to Navalny’s reported death was a “self-exposure” at a time when a forensic medical examination was not yet available.
The Kremlin has previously denied involvement in the mediated poisoning of Navalny and pledged to investigate his death.
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2024-02-17 11:13:47
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