At Davos, Zelensky lashes out at Putin and urges support for Ukraine’s fight

DAVOS, Switzerland — 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came out swinging Tuesday against Russian President Vladimir Putin at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos and even had a harsh word for his allies as he pressed political and corporate leaders to enforce sanctions, help rebuild his country and advance the peace process.

Zelensky is endeavoring to keep his country’s long and largely stalemated defense against Russia on the minds of political leaders, just as Israel’s war with Hamas, which passed the 100-day mark this week, has siphoned off much of the world’s attention and sparked concerns about a wider conflict in the Middle East.

“Anyone [who] thinks this is only about us, this is only about Ukraine — they are fundamentally mistaken,” he said in a speech in English at the Swiss ski resort. “Possible directions and even timeline of a new Russian aggression beyond Ukraine become more and more obvious.”

“Putin embodies war” and will not change, he said. While lashing out at Putin for mass deportations, leveling cities and “the terrifying feeling that the war may never end,” he also offered pointed criticism of a world that told him to not escalate tensions ahead of Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.

After that, “nothing harmed our coalition more than this concept. Every ‘Don’t escalate’ to us sounded like ‘You will prevail’ to Putin,” Zelensky said.

He thanked allies for each package of sanctions on Moscow but urged them to ensure that they work. He said he believed the European Union and U.S. would come through in “a matter of weeks” with more aid that has been held up by political infighting within his two biggest allies.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, who, along with U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan, met with Zelensky in Davos, said Washington was determined to keep supporting Ukraine, and “we’re working very closely with Congress in order to do that.”

It is Zelensky’s first trip to Davos as president after speaking by video in previous years, and — while surrounded by a large security contingent — he’s drawing the attention of media and others trying to grab a word with him.

There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin about Zelensky’s statement. Moscow casts its invasion of Ukraine — which until recently it had declined to call a “war” — as a necessary measure to counter threats to its security posed by Kyiv’s plans to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Between a dizzying array of panels on big-picture issues and talks on topics including artificial intelligence and climate change, leaders including Chinese Premier Li Qiang, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani are giving their thoughts at the forum on the world’s biggest challenges and opportunities.

Mohammed said the focus on the attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi rebels — which have spurred retaliatory strikes by the U.S. and Britain — was “on the symptoms and not treating the real issue” of Israel’s war against Hamas.

“We should focus on the main conflict in Gaza. And as soon as it’s defused, I believe everything else will be defused,” he said, adding that a two-state solution was required to end the conflict.

Mohammed also warned that a military confrontation “will not contain” the Houthi attacks.

“I think that what we have right now in the region is a recipe of escalation everywhere,” he added.

Li, the Chinese premier, focused on pitching his country as a place to invest, noting that “we are opening wide our embrace.” He said China’s economy is estimated to have grown about 5.2% last year, exceeding the target it had set of 5%.

China’s economy, for decades a leading engine of global expansion, has struggled since COVID-19 restrictions, with high youth unemployment and its overbuilt property market imploding.

Li issued veiled criticism of U.S. restrictions on China’s ability to buy advanced computer chips used in everything from cellphones to washing machines.

“Technology’s achievements should be used to benefit all humankind, and it should not be used as a method to limit, to suppress another country,” he said.

Von der Leyen reiterated that the EU didn’t want to break from Beijing — one of its most important trade partners — but did want to ease the risks of relying too heavily on it because “we have issues when it comes to access to the market, when it comes to a level playing field, when it comes to economic security.”

She noted China’s export controls on metals used in computer chips, solar cells and more.

For the U.S., Sullivan said no when asked whether he would meet with China’s delegation as he headed into talks with Zelensky and Blinken. But outgoing U.S. climate envoy John F. Kerry did, arriving late to a panel on the future of United Nations climate conferences because of an “unexpected” meeting with Li.

Kerry praised cooperation between the two countries on climate change and the speed of China’s rollout of renewable energy.

Zelensky, once reluctant to leave his war-torn country, has recently gone on a whirlwind tour to try to rally support for Ukraine’s cause amid donor fatigue in the West and concerns that former President Trump — who has continued to ally himself with Putin since the Ukraine invasion — might return to the White House next year.

The Ukrainian leader hopes to parlay the high visibility of the event into a bully pulpit to underscore his nation’s pressing needs, and allies will be lining up: Corporate chiefs and officials such as Von der Leyen learned what support was needed to help Ukraine rebuild at an invitation-only “CEOs for Ukraine” session.

“It’s time for us, for Ukrainian companies, for international companies to rebuild [the] Ukrainian economy,” Maxim Timchenko, chief executive of Ukrainian energy company DTEK, said after the session. “To rely on ourselves. To build a future for Ukraine.”

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In her speech, Von der Leyen painted an optimistic view of the war in Ukraine despite the stalemate. She said Russia has “lost half of its military capabilities,” while Ukraine regained half the ground it had originally lost early in the invasion.

A day earlier, Zelensky made a stop in Switzerland’s capital, Bern, where President Viola Amherd pledged that her country would start working with Ukraine to help organize a “peace summit.”

In his Davos speech, Zelensky invited the world to join in watching by livestream and urged his listeners: “Please, strengthen our economy, and we will strengthen your security.”

While the geopolitical situation has been gloomy, businesses appear more hopeful — in part from prospects that artificial intelligence can help boost productivity.

AI is a major topic at Davos, with a key talk by Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella — whose company has invested billions in ChatGPT maker OpenAI — among the sessions Tuesday.

Nadella, speaking at a Bloomberg News event before his talk, indicated that issues surrounding OpenAI’s leadership have been resolved. The ChatGPT maker’s governance and relationship with Microsoft came into question last year after the startup’s board suddenly fired Chief Executive Sam Altman, who was then swiftly reinstated.

“I’m comfortable — I have no issues with any structure” of the operating model at OpenAI, Nadella said. “What I would like is good governance and real stability.”