Davos: Uraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Tuesday, met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Davos, where the duo discussed the ongoing war against Russia and the defence equipment that Kyiv needs to deter Moscow's aggression. During the meeting, Zelenskyy said the agenda revolved around air defence and long-range capabilities. He informed Blinken and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan of the battlefield situation, plans for 2024, and the means needed to fulfil them.
Kyiv is increasing efforts to ramp up domestic military production to ensure stable supplies and become less dependent on foreign partners, which face their own shortages and cannot meet Ukraine's battlefield needs. "We... emphasised that greater defence cooperation and co-production will increase Ukraine's self-reliance while decreasing its reliance on foreign military and financial aid," Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskyy urges West to show a united front against Putin
However, when he started speaking on the dias of the Davos meeting, he stressed that the West should show unity in order to ensure that Russia does not prevail in the war. Also, he opined that the world needs to assist Kyiv in order to radiate a message that no country or leader dares to undermine the sovereignty of any nation. He said that the West should show unity and call for more support for Ukraine to ensure that Russia does not prevail. In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Ukrainian President said that the West's worries about escalation had lost Kyiv time in its struggle against Russia.
Nearly two years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Zelenskyy told the forum he strongly opposed freezing the conflict along its current lines. The forum comes as Kyiv's troops are going onto a more defensive footing after a major counteroffensive last year was unable to break through Russian defensive lines in Ukraine's occupied south and east.
(With inputs from agency)
