davos Volodymyr Zelensky urges: “Ukraine has no time. And nobody knows how much time Europe has,” says the President of Ukraine in an olive-colored T-shirt from Kyiv. He is connected to the packed congress hall in Davos, where the World Economic Forum is currently taking place.
The President is calling for no more buying of Russian oil, for sanctions on all Russian banks without exception and for an embargo on the Russian IT sector. Western brands must withdraw completely from the Russian market, Zelenski demands. The international community must show the Russian leadership “with maximum force” that its aggression is not paying off.
“The world is united and I am grateful to the world for that,” the President said to international politicians and business leaders from all over the world. “I wish that you will not lose the sense of unity.”
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Not only is there currently a heated debate in the EU about an oil embargo, which is being drawn out more and more, mainly because of Hungary’s veto. Zelensky also knows that a protracted war will make it more difficult for politicians internationally to maintain high levels of popular support.
After three months of war, international support for Ukraine is still high. In Davos, everyone standing in the hall applauds Selenski at the end of his speech. Forum founder Klaus Schwab assures: “We are united behind you.”
The Ukrainian cabinet is prominently represented in Davos: Economics Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is there, as are Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Europe Minister Olga Stefanishyna.
(Photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire)
No topic dominates the World Economic Forum as much as Moscow’s war of aggression in Ukraine and its consequences. There is no Russian delegation this year, but the Ukrainian cabinet is prominently represented in Davos: Economics Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is there, as are Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Europe Minister Olga Stefanishyna, and Digital Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
On Wednesday, “CEOs for Ukraine” will show their support in a separate program item. And yet the elite forum is far removed from Selenski’s everyday life, who, as he says, first thing in the morning is the number of war dead.
This year, where the Russian House in Davos traditionally stands, the President’s Office in Kyiv, in cooperation with the foundation of Ukrainian businessman Victor Pinchuk, created a “House of Russian War Crimes”.
A ten-minute walk from the convention center, there are pictures of injured civilians, bombed-out residential buildings and Ukrainian mass graves. Eyewitnesses like a young doctor from Mariupol or the mayor from Butcha report on their experiences.
On Monday, a Ukrainian court in Kyiv sentenced a 21-year-old Russian soldier to life imprisonment in the first trial after the outbreak of war on February 24 for shooting dead an unarmed Ukrainian civilian. “We see the genocide almost online,” says oligarch Pinchuk in Davos.
As a sign to Moscow, but also to finance the high costs in Ukraine, Zelensky is calling for the confiscation of Russian assets that have only been frozen up to now. According to him, the hundreds of billions of dollars should flow into an aid fund for Ukraine. Here, too, he finds supporters: “There are legal challenges, but we should solve them,” says Latvian President Egils Levits.
Zelensky: Ukraine needs five billion dollars every month
Ukraine needs a lot of money. Selenski calculates five billion dollars a month. Entrepreneur Julia Kiryanova, head of the industrial holding company Smart Holding based in Kyiv, calculates for her company investments that she sees a decline of around 50 percent in production in the entire portfolio.
The decline in steel is particularly high because two steelworks in Mariupol are no longer operational. Wheat production has fallen by a good third. “But we are alive,” says the company boss. “And we look to the future. Otherwise we are dead – and that is what the enemy wants.”
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Zelensky is therefore asking for help to set up a transport corridor in the Black Sea so that Ukrainian agricultural products can leave the country. Russian soldiers are currently blockading Ukrainian ports. To this end, he held talks with the heads of state and government in Great Britain and Poland, Switzerland and Turkey, said Selenski.
Kremlin critic Bill Browder is also in favor of the West setting up a protection zone in the Black Sea to allow food exports from Ukraine again. He shares Zelenski’s impression that Ukraine is running out of time. “Western sanctions against Russia are only partially successful. Time works for Putin,” says the American, who heads the investment company Hermitage Capital.
“The longer we secure his power with energy purchases, the greater the risk of social unrest or a new wave of populism in western countries over the skyrocketing cost of living.”
The best way to weaken Russian President Vladimir Putin is to help Ukraine win with military aid. The Ukrainian MP Yevheniia Kravchuk sees it the same way. “The best humanitarian aid for Ukraine right now is weapons,” she says. “With arms we prevent another war.”
More: Four-Star General: “Putin Just Doesn’t Know About Warfare”