Zelensky warns EU: russian forces in Belarus a growing threat
Volodymyr Zelensky warned in Munich on Saturday about the threat to EU countries related to Russian army activities in Belarus. As the President of Ukraine stated, "[Belarus] has effectively become a foothold for Russian military operations."
"We have clear intelligence information that Russia is planning to send troops to Belarus in the summer under the pretext of exercises. But this is exactly how the invasion of Ukraine was prepared three years ago. Is this Russian force in Belarus meant to attack Ukraine? Maybe," Zelensky said during his speech at the Munich Security Conference.
"Or maybe – it’s meant for you? Let me remind you: Belarus borders three NATO countries. It has effectively become a foothold for Russian military operation," he added.
"I don't believe in security guarantees without America"
Zelensky also talked about how NATO does not have an answer to the demands of Russian leader Vladimir Putin. He said that security guarantees for his country will not be effective as long as the USA does not stand behind them.
"I do not believe in security guarantees without America – it will be just weak. But America will not offer guarantees unless Europe’s own guarantees are strong. I also will not take NATO membership for Ukraine off the table," he assured.
The Ukrainian president noted that currently, Vladimir Putin has the greatest influence over NATO. "But right now, the most influential member of NATO seems to be Putin – because his whims have the power to block NATO decisions. And that’s despite the fact that it was Ukraine’s army that stopped Russia – not a NATO country, not NATO troops, but only our people and army," he stated.
Zelensky emphasized that if Ukraine does not become a member of NATO, it will need external support. "This means that we will need an armed force that would be comparable to Russia's armed forces. And there are 1.3-1.5 million soldiers there. So we need to have money for this. Now it is a big deficit for us. It is more than 40 billion annually. We will need the money and weapons that we have prescribed in our Victory Plan. And if Putin launches a new invasion, we could use these weapons," he said.
