Feb. 17 (UPI) -- World leaders stressed unity with Ukraine at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying there is "no alternative to Ukrainian victory."
"We need to hurry up. We need speed -- speed of our agreements, speed of our delivery...speed of decisions to limit Russian potential. There is no alternative," Zelensky said as he opened the gathering via video link.
"Delay has always been and still is a mistake. While we negotiate how to strengthen our defense with modern tanks, the Kremlin is thinking, thinking about ways to strangle Moldova," Zelensky said.
He went on to emphasize Ukrainian battlefield successes.
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"Can we deter Russian strikes? Yes. Can we protect our cities from Russian missiles? Definitely. Can we liberate our land? There are 1,891 proofs of this. That is exactly how many cities, towns, villages we managed to liberate from the Russian occupation," Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president also called for Ukrainian membership in the European Union, emphasizing existing links between his country and the rest of Europe.
"Most Europeans support membership for Ukraine. We have already gained the status of a candidate country. We are already preparing to start membership negotiations. We are already united with the European economy, logistics and energy," he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for increased support for a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
"We absolutely need to intensify our support and our effort to the resistance of the Ukrainian people and its army and help them to launch a counter-offensive, which alone can allow credible negotiations," Macron told the gathering.
"The hour of dialogue hasn't come yet, because Russia chose war. Russia chose to target civilian infrastructure and commit war crimes," Macron said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for unity against Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion.
"Putin's revisionism will not prevail. On the contrary, Ukraine is more united than ever. The EU stands unified and it stands behind Ukraine's future EU membership. NATO is growing, it is gaining new members and at the same time thousands of young Russians have paid the ultimate price for Putin's war with their lives, and many others have turned their backs on their country.
"The Ukrainians are defending their freedom at such high cost and with remarkably impressive resolve and we are supporting them, as comprehensively and as long as is necessary."
Scholz said Germany has provided more than 12 billion euros to assist Ukraine last year and has taken in more than 1 million refugees, as well as supplying munitions.
The chancellor also addressed historical concerns about German weapons entering a major conflict in Europe.
"I understand if some people here in Germany are concerned and question our decisions. And I want to say to them that it is not our arms supplies which are prolonging the war. The opposite is true ... The sooner President Putin realizes that he cannot achieve his imperialist objective, the greater the chance that the war will end soon with the withdrawal of Russia's occupying forces," Scholz said.
