(AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke on Friday during a visit to Berlin, expressing hope that the war with Russia will end next year and calling for continued military support.
As Ukraine faces its third harsh winter of war, President Zelenskiy is seeking support for a whirlwind two-day tour of European capitals, taking in London, Paris and Rome.
Zelenskiy, wearing his trademark military uniform, thanked Germany for its support during a visit to Prime Minister Olaf Scholz, saying: “It is very important for us that this support does not diminish next year.”
He said he would present Scholz with a plan to win the war and expressed hope that the conflict would end “by next year, 2025 at the latest.”
“Ukraine, more than anyone else in the world, wants a just and quick end to this war,” Zelenskiy said. “War is destroying our country and taking the lives of our people.”
Scholz vowed that Germany and EU member states would send more defense equipment this year and pledged 4 billion euros worth of German aid in 2025, “not to slow down our support to Ukraine.” .
Scholz agreed on the need for a peace conference that would include Ukrainian leaders and Russia, but said peace “can only be achieved on the basis of international law.”
“We will not accept peace dictated by Russia,” Scholz said.
Zelensky then concluded his tour by meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Ukraine's leader is seeking new military and financial aid from European allies amid fears of a decline in support if Donald Trump wins next month's U.S. presidential election.
A Ukrainian defense conference scheduled for Saturday at the US Air Force Base Ramstein in western Germany was postponed after US President Joe Biden canceled a state visit to Germany due to Hurricane Milton.
Germany is Ukraine's largest supplier of military aid after the United States.
But Scholz, concerned about escalating NATO's tense standoff with nuclear-armed Russia, refused to send Germany's long-range Taurus missile system.
President Zelenskiy started the day at the Vatican for talks with the 87-year-old leader of the world's approximately 1.4 billion Catholics, marking his second meeting with Pope Francis since the February 2022 invasion of Russia. It was a personal audience.
Francis has repeatedly called for peace in Ukraine and regularly prays for his “martyred” people, but he sparked outrage in Kiev after he urged Ukrainians to “raise the white flag and negotiate” in an interview earlier this year. caused it.
Zelenskiy said in a social media post on Friday that his meeting with the pope focused on the “incredibly painful” issue of people captured from Ukraine and deported to Russia, saying the Holy See could help. He said he was looking forward to it.
The Vatican said that during his visit, Zelenskiy discussed “the war situation and the humanitarian situation in Ukraine” and how to achieve a “just and stable peace.”
President Zelenskiy met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday, after which he denied media reports that he was discussing the terms of a ceasefire with Russia.
“This is not the subject of our discussion,” he told reporters. “That's not true. Russia often cooperates with media disinformation.”
President Zelenskiy has rejected any peace proposal that would involve handing land to Russia, insisting that Russia must first withdraw all its forces from Ukrainian territory.
As Ukraine faces its harshest winter since the start of a full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, Russian forces are advancing across the eastern front and targeting power grids.
Russia announced on Friday that Russian troops had captured the front-line villages of Zhelan Durge and Ostrifske, the latest in a series of territorial gains for Moscow.
An overnight Russian attack on southern Ukraine's Odesa region killed four people, including a teenage girl, and wounded 10 more, according to the regional governor.
President Zelenskiy has sought permission to use long-range weapons supplied by allies, including Britain's Storm Shadow missiles, to strike military targets deep in Russia.
The United States and London are delaying approval, fearing it could draw NATO allies into direct conflict with Russia.
In Germany, Mr. Scholz's refusal to deploy Taurus missiles has been controversial even within his own three-party coalition government with the Green Party and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP).
“We have to supply Ukraine with much more air defense weapons, ammunition and long-range weapons,” Green Party MEP Anton Hoffreiter told Rheinische Post newspaper.
“Limiting the range of weapons supplied will not contribute to easing tensions, but will instead enable further Russian attacks.”
FDP defense expert Marie-Agnès Struck-Zimmermann told the paper: “President Zelenskiy has once again made it clear to the prime minister that even if Ukraine loses this war, this will not be the last war in Europe.'' I strongly hope that you will do so.”
