On Saturday, February 15, the second day of the Munich Security Conference began. In his speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on European states to consolidate and create a joint army. He spoke about Russiaʼs attack on the Chornobyl nuclear power plant on February 14 and Moscowʼs plans.
Zelensky said that the Chornobyl nuclear power plant was hit by a Russian Shahed with 50 kilograms of explosives. In his opinion, this was a "deeply symbolic" action by the enemy.
"We are preparing a project to expand the Khmelnytskyi NPP with the involvement of American business, in particular Westinghouse
This year, Moscow plans to create 15 new divisions, totaling 150 000 soldiers. Thatʼs more than the national armies of most European countries.
"New army recruitment centers are opening in Russia every week. Putin can afford it — oil prices are still high enough for him to ignore the world," Zelensky said.
Ukraine has intelligence that Russia wants to introduce troops into Belarus in the summer of 2025 under the pretext of "training", just as it did before a full-scale invasion.
According to the Ukrainian leader, the US Vice President JD Vance, during his speech on February 14, sent a signal that the decades-old relationship between Europe and the United States was coming to an end.
"We cannot rule out the possibility that America may say no to Europe on issues that threaten it. Many leaders have said that Europe needs its own army — a European army. I believe that the time has come. We need to create the Armed Forces of Europe. This is no more difficult than steadfastly resisting Russian attacks, as we have already done," Zelensky is convinced.
He stressed that this is not just about the accumulation of weapons, but also about jobs, technological leadership and economic power for Europe. Zelensky also stressed that he is not talking about replacing NATO.
During 2024, Ukraine produced over 1.5 million drones of various types. The state is a world leader in the industry, and this is a joint success of Kyiv and its allies, the president says.
"We are already working to ensure that on February 24, the third anniversary of Russiaʼs full-scale invasion, we can come together in Kyiv and online. All European leaders. All key partners who protect our security. From Spain to Finland. From Britain to Poland. From Washington to Tokyo," the leader added.
Zelensky once again emphasized that he would not remove the issue of Ukraineʼs membership in the Alliance from the agenda.
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