Leading diplomats, military officers, and politicians from around the world gathered in Munich on Feb. 17th, 2024 in order to survey a European security landscape that was transformed by Ukraine’s invasion by the Russian forces that began on Feb. 24, 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there was “no alternative to Ukrainian victory”.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are among the many top officials attending the Munich Security Conference which is a major annual global gathering that is focused on defense and diplomacy. 

By its own measure, it has been a difficult year for the Munich Security Conference with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine causing a severe blow to the high-profile event that pledged to contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflicts. After the last year’s conference the prestigious and powerful participants of the annual conference had barely returned home when the Russian President, Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion on a scale that European powers could not fathom.

During the present annual conference, reports suggest that there are plans that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would give the opening address on international security policy. Thus, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is expected to dominate the event after almost a year-long war that has caused worldwide repercussions.

It has been the first time in two decades that the conference did not invite Russian officials. This comes against the backdrop that western countries have sought to isolate Russia diplomatically. It is expected that the conference will be attended by senior Ukrainian officials. 

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that Russia’s war in Ukraine would overshadow the proceedings. According to western officials and analysts, the conflict is reaching a critical phase as it would enter into its second year next week.

Ukraine is depending on Western weapons to thwart President Putin’s ambition of acquiring control of the larger areas of the country, in what has become a governmental resolve amid increasing financial costs.

Experts suggest that President Zelenskyy has been portraying Ukraine as defending Western values of freedom and democracy against tyranny and has been arguing that his country needed to be properly provisioned in order to fend off Russian forces. In this regard, western countries have sided with him. Nevertheless, at times they have been slow to meet his requests.

Upon receiving the Western pledge of tanks and more ammunition, Kyiv is now hoping to gain fighter jets, however, some countries have balked at sending them.

Recently, Russia accused the United States of America of “inciting” Ukraine which has led to the escalation of the war. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s comments came after US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland stated that Washington supported the steps taken by the Ukrainians on military installations on the Black Sea peninsula, which Moscow had seized in 2014.

Moreover, Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukraine’s president, has reiterated Kyiv’s position stating that it will not be holding any peace talks with Moscow unless Russia withdrew its forces.