war | Zelensky calls Putin a monster at security conference

Ukraine withdraws from Avdiivka. Lithuania calls for more European efforts. More information in the news blog.

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Zelensky: “Putin is a monster”

4:41 p.m.: At the Munich Security Conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj fired harshly at Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin. He sees only two options for him: an indictment before the International Criminal Court or his death. “Putin is a monster,” he says.

If the international community doesn’t act now, “Putin will succeed in turning the next few years into a catastrophe,” says Zelensky, who also warned of dangers for other European countries in his speech: “We have to act together as a team. If the… “If Ukraine stands alone, then you will see what happens: Russia will destroy us, destroy the Baltics, destroy Poland – it is capable of it.” Here you can read more about it.

Harris: Russia must pay damages to Ukraine

3 p.m: US Vice President Kamala Harris demands that Russia pay for the damage caused by the attacks in Ukraine after the end of the war. “We will continue our efforts to secure a just and lasting peace. We will work to ensure that Russia pays compensation to Ukraine,” she said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Munich.

Ukraine claims to have shot down three Russian fighter jets

2:35 p.m.: The Ukrainian Air Force says it has destroyed three Russian fighter jets. Two Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bombers and one Su-35 were shot down on the eastern sector of the front, Air Force Chief Mykola Oleshchuk said on Telegram.

Shortly before, Ukrainian troops in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk had to withdraw from the industrial city of Avdiivka. The Russian Air Force had intensively bombed Ukrainian positions on this sector of the front for days with precise guided bombs.

Russian sources did not initially confirm the shooting. However, Russian military observers had previously reported a deployment of Ukrainian anti-aircraft systems near Avdiivka.

Stoltenberg holds the USA responsible

11:32 a.m.: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called on the USA to deliver to Ukraine “what they promised”. There is an “absolute necessity” for the US Congress to decide “as quickly as possible” on military aid for Kiev, Stoltenberg said at the Munich Security Conference. A corresponding aid package worth 60 billion dollars (around 55.7 billion euros) has been blocked in Congress in Washington for weeks.

Ukraine needs the help, argues the NATO Secretary General. The longer it takes for the law to be passed in the USA, the more people will die on the front in Ukraine, emphasizes Stoltenberg.

Regarding the NATO states’ ability to defend themselves against a possible Russian attack, Stoltenberg says that the war in Ukraine has shown that there are “significant gaps”, for example in the repair of military equipment and in the production of ammunition. This was a “good lesson” for NATO and the Europeans need to do more in this regard. However, as the largest military power in the world, NATO is still “naturally stronger than the Russians.”

Zelenskyj: Go to the front with Donald Trump

11:22 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj personally invites US presidential candidate Donald Trump to Kiev and a visit to the front. “If Trump comes, I am ready to go to the front with him,” Zelensky said on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference. “Decision makers need to know what the war is like in reality, not just what it is like on Instagram.”

Trump has indicated several times that he would stop military aid to Ukraine if he were re-elected as president. The USA is the country’s biggest supporter, ahead of Germany, in its defensive fight against the Russian war of aggression.