Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “slave to war” in a speech to the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, asserting that Russian attacks had damaged every power plant in the country.
Zelensky drew comparisons between the current Russia-Ukraine negotiations over territorial concessions and the 1938 Munich Agreement, when Hitler forced European powers to cede territory a year before the outbreak of World War II.
Speaking just days ahead of the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s invasion, which has killed hundreds of thousands, devastated eastern Ukraine, and displaced millions, Zelensky highlighted the scale of Russia’s assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
“There is not a single power plant left in Ukraine that has not been damaged by Russian attacks. Not one,” he said. “But we still generate electricity,” praising the thousands of workers repairing the plants. He renewed his appeal to Western nations to deliver air-defence systems more quickly.
On Putin, who launched the war in February 2022, Zelensky said, “He may see himself as a tsar, but in reality he is a slave to war.”
Talks and security guarantees
Zelensky also met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the conference. Russia has demanded that Ukraine withdraw from its Donetsk region and recognise Moscow’s claims to the territories it occupies, but Kyiv has ruled out surrendering its eastern regions.
Of the negotiations so far, Zelensky said, “The Americans often return to the topic of concessions, and too often those concessions are discussed in the context only of Ukraine.” He warned that dividing Ukraine to end the war would be an illusion, drawing parallels with the 1938 Munich Agreement.
“It would be an illusion to believe that this war can now be reliably ended by dividing Ukraine — just as it was an illusion to believe that sacrificing Czechoslovakia would save Europe from a great war,” he said.
Zelensky stressed that viable security guarantees were essential for ending the conflict and preventing future Russian aggression. “With Russia, you cannot leave a single loophole Russians can use to start a war,” he said.
He also argued that European countries should have a seat at the negotiating table — something Russia opposes — to increase the likelihood of a successful settlement.
Next week’s Geneva talks between Kyiv and Moscow will follow two rounds of US-mediated negotiations in Abu Dhabi. Zelensky said he had also spoken by phone to US envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner ahead of the talks, adding, “We count on the meetings being truly productive.”
With no breakthrough yet, Zelensky urged Western allies to accelerate political decisions. “Weapons evolve faster than political decisions meant to stop them,” he said, noting the increasing lethality of Iranian-designed Shahed drones employed by Russia.
On the timing of elections in Ukraine, Zelensky said they would be held once Kyiv secures security guarantees and a ceasefire is agreed.
