Will Zelenskyy make Brussels trip to address EU Parliament? He wants to but there is 'very significant risk'

Kyiv: In what could be his second excursion outside the country ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is mulling a trip to Brussels later this week as leaders of the European Union (EU) gather for a summit, although security reasons reportedly could jeopardise his visit.

The Ukrainian president is expected to be in Brussels on Thursday, where his visit will likely start with an address to an extraordinary plenary session of the European Parliament, Euronews quoted a senior EU official as saying.

Later, he is expected to attend a special conference of EU leaders where they would talk about migration, how the EU would respond to the US Inflation Reduction Act, and how they would support Ukraine, including by imposing a tenth round of sanctions on Russia. Since the war began, Zelenskyy has virtually attended a number of these conferences to inform leaders of the situation on the ground.

Earlier, Zelenskyy visited Washington in December 2022 and met US President Joe Biden. He also delivered a key speech at Congress. Zelenskyy’s latest visit, if at all it happens, would come a week after EU Commissioners visited Kyiv for meetings with the government followed by an EU-Ukraine summit attended by Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel.

‘Security threat’

Earlier on January 19, Charles Michel made the case for Zelenskyy to visit Brussels during his Kyiv visit, however, authorities did not commit to a visit back then. Later on, Michel and Ursula von der Leyen discussed this idea again with Zelenskyy and Ukrainian officials during their trip to Kyiv last week.

Officials said earlier that “there is an open invitation to President Zelenskyy to visit Brussels”. In reply, he said that he really wants to travel, but “there’s a very significant risk because of Russia’s attempt to have a revenge.”

Also, Zelenskyy reiterated his wish for Ukraine to join the European Union as early as possible. He further called for more financial and military assistance, especially long-range weapons, as armed forces in Ukraine are reportedly gearing up for a new Russian offensive they feel will begin later this month to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the war.

Getting the Ukrainian president to Brussels would be a “huge security challenge,” Politico reported.

However, it is more likely than not that Zelenskyy would make the trip, an official close to the discussions said, but cautioned that no final decision has been made yet.

Aid to Ukraine

So far, the European Union has provided roughly 60 billion euros of aid to Ukraine. This includes 12 billion euros in military support, 38 billion euros in humanitarian and macro-financial assistance and 10 billion euros to support Ukrainian refugees, Euronews reported.

Moreover, western allies are also speeding up deliveries of heavy weapons. These include Leopard 2 tanks from Germany and Poland.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy has expressed confidence in Ukraine against Vladimir Putin-led Russia.

“We are confident in our victory but long-range weapons can make our victory faster. Ukraine knows about this, Russia knows about this and Brussels knows about this,” Zelenskyy said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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