Zelensky warns navy support despatched to Ukraine is not going to defeat Russia

Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday warned the level of military aid being sent by the West is still not sufficient for Ukraine to defeat Russia as 80 countries backed its ‘territorial integrity’.

Speaking at the end of a two-day conference in Switzerland billed as the start of a ‘Path to Peace’, Ukraine’s president hailed the event as a ‘success’ despite a string of major countries failing to sign the communique – among them India, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

Telling delegates that President Vladimir Putin was not ready for a ‘just peace’, Mr Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to negotiate with Russia ‘tomorrow’ – but only if its forces ‘leave our legal territories’.

The two-day conference in the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland came as Ukraine again struggles to repel Russian advances more than two years into the war, despite billions of dollars of Western military aid.

Following the summit – to which Russia was not invited, and which was snubbed by its key ally, China – 80 countries jointly called for Ukraine’s ‘territorial integrity’ to be the basis for any peace agreement.

Issues of nuclear safety, food security and the exchange of prisoners would also be crucial, they agreed.

Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday warned the level of military aid being sent by the West is still not sufficient for Ukraine to defeat Russia as 80 countries backed its ‘territorial integrity’

Speaking at the end of a two-day conference in Switzerland billed as the start of a ‘Path to Peace’, Ukraine’s president hailed the event as a ‘success’ despite a string of major countries failing to sign the communique – among them India, Saudi Arabia and South Africa 

Welcoming the outcome of the conference, president Zelensky said it could form the basis of a second peace summit aimed at ending the war, which has killed or injured hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions.

But he warned the current level of Western military aid being sent to his country was not enough to ensure Kyiv wins the war.

‘There is aid,’ he said.

‘There are serious packages. Is it enough to win? No. Is it late? Yes.’ 

President Zelensky told a closing press conference that ‘Russia and their leadership are not ready for a just peace’.

‘Russia can start negotiations with us even tomorrow without waiting for anything – if they leave our legal territories,’ he added.

Viola Amherd, the Swiss president who hosted the event, told the final news conference the ‘great majority’ of participants agreed to the final document, which ‘shows what diplomacy can achieve.’ 

But European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said peace negotiations with Russia remained impossible ‘because Putin is not serious about ending the war’.

‘He is insisting on capitulation,’ she said.

‘He is insisting on disarming Ukraine, leaving it vulnerable to future aggression. No country would ever accept these outrageous terms.’ 

The outcome drew a muted response from ordinary Ukrainians.

Yana Shyrokyh, 56, whose army serviceman son has been in captivity since 2022, said she would ‘really like to believe’ the conference would make a difference, ‘but some very important countries did not sign the communique’.