AFP :
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday proposed a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin aimed at averting an invasion by Russia of Ukraine.
‘I do not know what the Russian president wants. For this reason, I propose that we meet,’ Zelensky told an international security forum in Munich.
The Ukrainian leader, despite United States warnings of a Russian invasion, personally attend the Saturday’s Munich Security Conference, his office said.
Without referring to US President Joe Biden’s questioning of whether it would be wise to leave Kyiv, Zelensky’s office issued a statement insisting the situation in Ukraine’s east ‘remains under full control’.
His office said that Zelensky would meet with British prime minister Boris Johnson, German chancellor Olaf Scholz and US vice president Kamala Harris.
‘Vladimir Zelensky expects concrete agreements concerning the delivery to our country of additional military and financial support,’ his office said, adding that he would return to Kyiv later Saturday.
Warning that he believed that Russian president Vladimir Putin had made the decision to invade Ukraine, Biden on Friday suggested ‘it may not be the wise choice’ for Zelensky to attend that annual Munich conference.
‘But it’s his decision,’ Biden added.
Al Jazeera adds: Ukraine is Europe’s “shield” against the Russian military and deserves stronger international support, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says.
His comments came as pro-Russia separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine ordered a full military mobilisation while Western leaders made increasingly dire warnings that a Russia invasion of its neighbour appeared imminent.
“For eight years, Ukraine has been a shield,” Zelenskyy told a security conference in the German city of Munich on Saturday.
President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, supervised major military drills involving Russia’s nuclear forces.
Ukraine’s leader has proposed a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed at averting an invasion by Russia of Ukraine.
“I do not know what the Russian president wants. For this reason, I propose that we meet,” Zelenskyy told an international security forum in Munich.
Western powers should drop their policy of “appeasement” toward Moscow, he added. “We have no weapons and no security … but we have a right – a right to demand a shift from a policy of appeasement to one ensuring security and peace.”
The Ukrainian military said two soldiers were killed and four wounded in shelling by pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine, where a flare up of violence this week sparked fears it could be the trigger for Russian military action.
The Ukrainian military said it recorded 70 ceasefire violations by separatists since the start of the day compared with 66 cases over the previous 24 hours.
Separatists opened fire on more than 30 settlements along the front line using heavy artillery, which has been prohibited by agreements aimed at cooling the long-running conflict, it said.
Ukraine is Europe’s “shield” against the Russian military and Kyiv deserves stronger international support, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ukraine’s leader told the Munich Security Conference for years Ukraine has acted as barrier and protected the continent from Russian advances.
“For eight years, Ukraine has been holding back one of the greatest armies in the world,” Zelenskyy said, in reference to Ukraine’s conflict with Russian-backed separatists.
