(Kiev) The Ukrainian president on Tuesday welcomed the diplomatic and military support for his country in the face of fears of a Russian attack, “the most important” according to him since 2014, the year of the last Russian offensive against Ukraine.
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“Diplomatic support for Ukraine is the strongest and most unconditional since 2014 and it continues. Military and technical assistance to Ukraine is the most important, the most valuable and continues to arrive,” Volodymyr Zelensky told parliament, as several leaders are expected in Kyiv this week.
After a pro-Western revolution in Kiev, Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine in 2014.
Ukraine has also been plagued since the same year by a conflict with Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country, which has left more than 13,000 dead.
Despite the signing of peace agreements, the political settlement is deadlocked and the violence has never completely ceased.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki are expected in Kiev on Tuesday.
They are to be followed later in the week by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Next week five foreign ministers from European countries are expected there, including the French and the German.
“Such an intensity of visits is an important factor in stabilizing the situation,” underlined Mr. Zelensky.
He said Ukraine was working “actively” to organize a new summit for the settlement of the conflict in the east of the country, a so-called “Normandy” format with Russian, French and German leaders.
Mr. Zelensky also signed a decree which aims to increase the number of Ukrainian army personnel by 100,000 soldiers in three years, in addition to the current 250,000.
Russia is accused by the West of having massed tens of thousands of soldiers on the border of its neighbor in anticipation of a possible invasion.
Moscow denies any bellicose intentions, but conditions the de-escalation on a list of requirements, necessary according to it to guarantee its security, in particular the assurance that Ukraine will never be a member of NATO and that the Alliance withdraws its men on its 1997 positions.
Washington rejected this request, while leaving the door open to discussions on other security issues, such as the deployment of missiles or reciprocal limits on military exercises.