At a time when Ukrainian troops on the battlefield are beginning to notice a lack of weapons and ammunition, the international community wants Kyiv to know that it will take as long as necessary. This is the message that the four leaders who went by train to the Ukrainian capital yesterday to support President Volodymyr Zelensky in the commemoration of two years of a war that has forced Europe to think about rearming and has changed international geopolitical balances.
The entourage was remarkable. Together with Zelenski, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, attended; the prime minister of Belgium – the country that hosts the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU –, Alexander De Croo; the Canadian president, Justin Trudeau, representing transatlantic support, and the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, leader of the country that is hosting the presidency of the G-7 this year. Precisely in the afternoon, Meloni chaired the first meeting of the leaders of the most important world economies in a meeting by video conference that he did from the cathedral of Santa Sofia. He invited Zelenski himself to participate, and in front of him they pledged to send more military aid throughout 2024. Rome has made it very clear from the beginning that the Ukrainian issue will be one of the main issues of its presidency.
“More than ever, we strongly support Ukraine. Financially, economically, militarily, morally. Until the country is free", Von promised. The four Western leaders went to Gostomel airport, a symbol of the failure at the beginning of the Russian invasion, when Moscow tried to quickly take this infrastructure to control the capital. There was an airplane and several military vehicles destroyed during those days in early 2022.
"We have been fighting for this for 730 days of our lives. And we will win, the best day of our lives", promised Zelenski, in a message of thanks for the aid provided during all this time.
Meloni – who surprised with an unannounced visit to Ukraine – took the opportunity to sign a security guarantee agreement with Ukraine similar to those he has already signed with the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Denmark. Trudeau did the same for Canada, with an aid package worth 3 billion Canadian dollars. “We continue to support Ukraine in what I have always considered the right of the people to defend themselves. This necessarily also presupposes military support; confusing the much-used word peace with surrender, as some do, is a hypocritical approach that we will never share", promised the Italian president in a joint press conference.
At the opening of the G-7, Zelenski, with Meloni and Trudeau at his side, was very clear. "We count on you for our common victory", he told the leaders gathered virtually. And he added: "Remember that imperial ambitions and revenge only end with the defeat of those who are infected, and that only this result brings us true security and democratic progress."
