A quick tour in Europe. It is the one organized by the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to convince Ukraine’s allies to support the country at war with Russia with more funding. Among the heads of government he will meet is also the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Joining her on the agenda are the leaders of Great Britain, France and Germany as well as the new leader of NATO, Mark Rutte.
However, the meeting scheduled in Berlin with US President Joe Biden, who remained at home to monitor the consequences of Hurricane Milton, was cancelled. Zelensky’s objective is to intensify efforts to obtain more impressive economic and military support, also taking into account the delicate US presidential elections, where a victory for Donald Trump could change Washington’s attitude towards the conflict, causing the taps to turn off of the resources allocated to Kiev. His ambiguous relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin remain a big question worrying Kiev.
The stages of Zelensky’s trip to Europe
The first stop is London. As soon as he arrived in the British capital, Zelensky was welcomed to Downing Street by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Here he is also expected to meet the new head of NATO, the Dutch Mark Rutte. The next destinations of the intense day of meetings are Paris, Rome and finally Berlin. In Italy, in addition to Giorgia Meloni, a meeting is also scheduled with Pope Francis. However, an important meeting of Kiev’s military partners scheduled for Saturday 12 October in Germany was cancelled, due to the absence of Joe Biden, who canceled the trip due to Hurricane Milton hitting Florida. The lightning tour was announced on October 9, while the Ukrainian leader was in Dubrovnik, Croatia, at a press conference with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic. The meetings already on the agenda were those with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Meetings with Meloni, the pontiff and Starmer were therefore added last minute.
Zelensky’s proposals in the Balkans
Zelensky is worried about seeing European aid to Kiev disrupted. At the start of the “Ukraine-Southeastern Europe” summit held on October 9 in Croatia, he said that the European Union must “unite the entire continent, all the democratic nations of Europe, including your countries.” “If Europe is not united today, it will not be peaceful, so the integration processes initiated must reach their result,” he said. The basic idea is to link the membership of Ukraine and that of the Balkan states (pending for 20 years) to the European Union with support for the Ukrainian cause. The talks were attended by heads of state, prime ministers and foreign ministers of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey. Among these, the majority are not members of the EU.
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The Ukrainian prime minister has repeatedly mentioned a peace plan prepared by Kiev, which he would like to present at the peace conference scheduled for November. He promised that the plan “will detail the conditions for a just end to the war,” he said. In a joint statement at the end of the summit, Russian aggression was condemned, expressing support for Ukraine’s “independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity”. Finally, the leaders of South-Eastern Europe confirmed their “unwavering commitment to providing continuous and multifaceted support to Ukraine and its people for as long as necessary”.
Figures of military aid to Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky will take advantage of the remaining European tour to reiterate his calls for strengthening the military equipment of the Ukrainian army. On October 10, the German research institute Kiel Institute warned of a possible decline in Western aid to Ukraine. “As of next year, Ukraine may face a serious aid shortage,” reads a report from the institute, which lists the military, financial and humanitarian aid promised and delivered to Ukraine. The Kiel experts also warn that the possible return of Donald Trump to the White House “could block future aid plans in Congress”.
According to the research institute’s projections, military and financial aid would amount to 59 and 54 billion euros respectively in 2025 if Western donors maintain their aid levels. But this funding would be reduced by half, to 29 and 27 billion euros, without new US aid and a reduction in European donations. Zelensky in recent weeks has criticized his allies’ slow decisions on support for Ukraine, saying they were “reluctant” to provide longer-range missiles to the Ukrainian military. This would prevent Kiev’s military from deeply striking military targets on Russian territory.