06/11/2024 – 6:11
Ukrainian President says he intends to discuss expansion of the air defense system and solutions for energy supply. The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, participates this Tuesday (11/06) in the opening of an international conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine, in Berlin, alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The Berlin conference brings together people from around the world involved in Ukraine’s development and reconstruction efforts amid the war with Russia. At least ten prime ministers will be at the event, in addition to 2,000 political leaders and authorities from international organizations and the private sector.
“Chancellor Scholz and I will discuss new defense assistance, the expansion of the Ukrainian air defense system and joint weapons production,” Zelensky wrote on social media. “In the face of Russian air terrorism, urgent solutions for Ukraine’s energy sector will be our top priority,” he added.
At the start of the war, the German government was hesitant to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons for fear of an escalation of the conflict, but it has since become Kiev’s second-largest provider of military and financial aid, behind only the US.
Scholz, however, rules out the possibility of sending NATO troops to Ukraine, a strategy defended by French President Emmanuel Macron.
In the afternoon, Zelenski will also give a speech to the Bundestag (German parliament). This is the Ukrainian president’s third visit to Berlin since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Next Friday, Zelensky will go to Switzerland to participate in a peace summit on Ukraine, which aims to bring together leaders from one hundred countries.
gq/as (DPA, AFP)
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