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Zelensky to address Munich conference with Ukraine in focus
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky will Friday open the Munich Security Conference, as world leaders gather to renew their vow to back Kyiv against Russian forces ahead of the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion.
US-China ties will also be in focus at the three-day gathering, with tensions sky-high after Washington shot down an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon over US territory.
But the spotlight will be firmly on Ukraine, just days ahead of the February 24 anniversary of Moscow sending its forces into the country, unleashing war in Europe for the first time in decades.
Zelensky will address the official opening event via video link later, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and France’s President Emmanuel Macron also to speak.
Read Also: Zelensky makes first trip to US since war began
Others attending the gathering include US Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
Russian delegates including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who was a regular attendee at Munich in the past, have not been invited.
Representing Ukraine at the conference, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he planned talks with a series of top officials focused on weapons supplies.
“The priorities will be speeding up the supply of arms and ammunition already promised to Ukraine, and the adoption of political decisions in the future on the provision of combat aircraft for Ukraine,” he said in an Instagram post.
Ukraine’s Western backers, led by the United States, have given it a huge amount of weapons and pledged a barrage of others, including heavy battle tanks long sought by Kyiv to counter Russia’s offensive.