'European Tour' Zelensky: "Russia Will Be Defeated This Year"... Macron: "Russia Submits to China"

Obtaining Additional Military Support from Germany
Repeated Appeals for Latest Fighter Jet Assistance

Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, toured major European Union (EU) member states over the weekend, stating, "We can make it so that the invader (Russia) cannot recover from defeat this year." On the same day in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron, who was scheduled to meet with President Zelensky, claimed that Russia is becoming a vassal state of China.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to major foreign media on the 14th (local time), President Zelensky attended the Charlemagne Prize ceremony held in Aachen, Germany, and said, "Now is the time to make a decision to end the war this year."

He emphasized that there are no plans to attack Russian territory with Western-supplied weapons and that the focus of counterattacks will be on reclaiming occupied territories.

On this day, President Zelensky received the Charlemagne Prize, established in 1950 and awarded to those who have contributed to European integration. This was because "President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people" were selected as recipients at the end of last year. The ceremony was also attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, among others.

Chancellor Scholz expressed support for Ukraine's EU membership, saying, "(The war caused by Russia) has given us a clear realization that Ukraine is part of our European family." Commission President von der Leyen reaffirmed solidarity, stating, "Ukraine is fighting for our own freedom and values."

President Zelensky, who visited Finland and the Netherlands earlier this month, embarked on this European tour just ten days later. The day before, he visited Italy, meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Pope Francis, and upon arriving in Berlin, Germany, around midnight on the same day, he carried out several schedules. Upon arriving in Rome the previous day, he also stated, "This is an important visit to move closer to Ukraine's victory."

Through this tour, Ukraine secured a large-scale additional support package from Germany worth 2.7 billion euros (3.94 trillion won), including 50 tanks and armored vehicles and air defense systems. President Zelensky expressed gratitude to Germany for deciding on the largest military support since Russia's invasion and repeatedly appealed for Western state-of-the-art fighter jet support.

His next destination is Paris, France, where he is scheduled to have a dinner meeting with President Macron.

Before President Zelensky's visit, President Macron stated in an interview with the French daily L'Opinion that "(Russia) has effectively entered a form of submission related to China," expressing the view that Russia has already been geopolitically defeated. He emphasized, "Russia triggered the accession of Sweden and Finland to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) through the war, thus losing access to the important Baltic Sea. Just two years ago, this was unimaginable. Therefore, Russia has already been geopolitically defeated."

France is expected to reiterate its intention to provide military and humanitarian support to Ukraine after the meeting with President Zelensky.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.