MUNICH, The 59th Munich Security Conference (MSC-2023) concluded on Sunday with the Western countries reaffirming their resolve to increase military support to Ukraine.

Introducing the MSC report, Chairman of Conference Christoph Heusgen said, “Just a few days after last year’s conference concluded, Russia began its unprovoked and brutal aggression against Ukraine.” “Since that fateful decision, the world has changed dramatically,” Ambassador Heusgen noted. “The invasion of Ukraine also reveals a few simple things. First, (Russian President) Vladimir Putin’s decision to use military force against a peaceful neighbor has demonstrated that powerful actors believe they can ignore even the minimum standards of international law, such as the principle of territorial integrity. “Second, we are far from helpless. Revisionism can be resisted. The Ukrainian people, first and foremost, have demonstrated a remarkable resilience and determination in the face of blunt aggression. “The vast majority of UN member states have condemned the invasion and the attempted annexation of Ukrainian regions, and many countries have introduced sanctions against Russia and provided Ukraine with political, economic, and military support.

“However, Ukraine has not won the war yet, and will need the support of all those who believe in the rule of law. “Third, the fact that a considerable number of actors have not condemned Russia’s aggression shows that it is not enough for us to simply defend the status quo.–” “As this report argues, we need a vision of the international order that more people can subscribe to, as well as a larger coalition of responsible stakeholders, if we want to preserve the core principles of this order,” the chairman added. On his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the Western allies to speed up support for his country, stressing that there was no alternative to the victory of Ukraine.

In opening remarks to the gathering via a videolink yesterday, he warned that that lives of Ukrainian civilians were hanging in balance.

“We need to hurry up. We need speed, speed of agreements (to limit Russian potentials) and speed of delivery (of heavy weapons to Ukraine),” he urged. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged the European countries that can send combat tanks to Ukraine to “do so now.” Germany recognizes its responsibility for the security of Europe and the NATO area, without hesitations, Scholz noted.

On a similar, albeit tougher note, French President Emmanuel Macron urged the allies to step up weapon supplies to Ukraine and consider seriously Kyiv’s request for heavy weapons and fighter jets.

Macron suggested hosting a conference in Paris on Europe’s air defense, and for massive investments in defence to address the challenges facing the continent.

The Western allies absolutely need to intensify military support for the Ukrainian army to help launch a counter-offensive, he said, noting that such a counter-offensive will be the only way to force Russia into “credible negotiations.” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, “One year since Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, President Putin is not planning for peace but for more war.” “We must give Ukraine what they need to win and prevail as a sovereign, independent nation in Europe,” Stoltenberg stressed.

In her address to the two-day gathering, US Vice President Kamala Harris said, “We have witnessed Russian forces engage in horrendous atrocities and war crimes. Their actions are an assault on our common values, an attack on our common humanity.” “Russian forces have pursued a widespread and systemic attack against a civilian population – gruesome acts of murder, torture, rape, and deportation. Execution-style killings, beatings, and electrocution.

“Russian authorities have forcibly deported hundreds of thousands of people from Ukraine to Russia, including children. They have cruelly separated children from their families,” the Vice President noted.

“We believe in the fundamental importance of sovereignty and rule of law. And we will always stand on the side of justice. I do believe we all know when future generations look back at this moment, they will see that we understood the task before us and rose to the occasion.

“And so, to you I say: The United States of America is proud to be your partner in this noble pursuit,” she added.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak affirmed that his country became “the first country in the world to provide tanks to Ukraine – and the first to train pilots and marines.” “We gave GBP 2.3 billion last year – and we will match or exceed that in 2023. Now other allies can tell a similar story – and our collective efforts are making a difference.

“But with every day that passes, Russian forces inflict yet more pain and suffering. Now the only way to change that is for Ukraine to win.

“So we need a military strategy for Ukraine to gain a decisive advantage on the battlefield to win the war, and a political strategy to win the peace.

“To win the war, Ukraine needs more artillery, armoured vehicles and air defence,” Sunak went on.

“So now is the moment to double down on our military support. When Putin started this war, he gambled that our resolve would falter.

Even now, he is betting that we will lose our nerve. But we proved him wrong then. And we will prove him wrong now.

“Together we’re delivering as much equipment in the next few months as in the whole of 2022,” the prime minister vowed.

On the other hand, China – a staunch ally of Russia, announced an initiative to end the war in Ukraine Wang Yi, Chinese State Councilor and Director of the CCP Central Foreign Affairs Office, said, “We need to think calmly — about what efforts should be made to stop the war.” The EU High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell said the EU Member States are “the most important trainer of the Ukrainian army.” “By the end of the year, 30.000 Ukrainian soldiers will be trained by our EU Military Assistance Mission. I won’t enter into more details but this is what we have been doing.

“We have to increase and accelerate our military support to Ukraine,” he said adding that “Russia cannot win this war, that Ukraine has to prevail.” “Then let’s go from words to facts and accelerate our military support to Ukraine, because Ukraine is in a critical situation from the point of view from available ammunition.

“And I think we can say that we have been taking too much time to take critical decisions for providing battle tanks. “And this, when everybody knows that to win a war, a classical war, with tranches, and heavy arms, you need battle tanks, you will not win this war without this kind of arms,” Borrell added. The world’s leading forum for debating international security policy gathered more than 450 senior decision-makers as well as thought leaders from nearly 100 countries, including heads of state, ministers, and high-ranking representatives of NGOs, business, the media, academia, and civil society.

Source: Kuwait News Agency