interest. >> mr. chancellor, we are coming towards the end. maybe one last question. i presented this morning my opening remarks this meeting should be constructive optimists. you may call a pragmatic optimist. could you summarize for us what makes you really optimistic for the future? parks democracy, the people, and the opportunities we have with whom we are using the opportunities of the future. it's artificial intelligence all for medicine. there's a lot of opportunities. >> let's phrase the opportunities and not on

service. we have to deal with of the opportunity future. thank you very much chancellor scholz.switzerland. this runs about 45 minutes. [applause] >> your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, friends of ukraine, please join me in welcoming back to davos the president of ukraine, mr. zelenskyy.

[applause] i think you can hear from the applause that people are very much looking forward to hearing you speak, mr. president, but also to greet you in the warmest way. welcome you back to our annual meeting. we are really approaching three years since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of ukraine. the largest european conflict since the second world war. nearly 1/5 of ukraine's internationally recognized territory remains under occupation. the scale of human suffering since february 24, 2022 has been tragic. almost 40% of your population requires humanitarian

assistance, millions face food insecurity. deliberate attacks against your country's energy infrastructure expose ukrainians to freezing temperatures. attacks against civilian infrastructure including schools, hospitals have caused huge physical and mental harm on those that are most vulnerable. in the face of this tragedy, thanks for your leadership. you and your country remain steadfast. your country remains firmly on the european path, having been granted eu candidate status. mr. president, we truly hope we will see the war come to an end in 2025 through a just and lasting peace that restore ukraine's sovereignty. a peace that ensures future generations will never have to know the horrors of war.

the world is eager to hear from you in what lies ahead for ukraine in the coming year. welcome back to davos, mr. president. [applause] pres. zelenskyy: thank you so much. ladies and gentlemen, i want to talk about the future of europe with you, which basically means the future of most people here. right now, all eyes are on washington, but who is actually watching europe at the moment? the key question for europe and it is not just about ideas, it is about people first of all.

about how they will live in a world that is constantly changing. 20 hours ago, president trump's inauguration took place in washington and now everyone is waiting to see what he will do next. his first executive orders have already shown clear priorities. most of the world's thinking what's going to happen to their relationship with america? what will happen to alliances, to support, to trade? how does president trump plan to end wars? but, no one is asking these kinds of questions about europe. and we need to be honest about that. when we in europe look at the united states as our ally, it is

clear they are an indispensable ally. in times of war, everyone worries will the united states stay with them? every ally worries about that, but does anyone in the united states worry that europe might abandon them someday? might stop being there ally -- their ally? the answer is no. washington does not believe europe can bring them something that is really substantial. and i remember last year's asia security summit in singapore, t he dialogue. there, representatives of the united states delegation openly said their top security priority in the pacific region. the second is the middle east and the gulf.

and only the third is europe. that was under their previous administration. will president trump even notice europe? does he see nato as necessary and will he respect eu institutions? ladies and gentlemen, europe can't afford to be second or third in line for its allies. if that happens, the world will start moving forward without europe. and that is a world that will not be comfortable or beneficial for all europeans. europe needs to compete for the top spot in priorities and technological development. some see as a problem for europe, but others call a challenge.

europe must establish itself as a strong global player. as an indispensable player. let's not forget, there is no portion separating european countries from russia. european leaders should remember these battles involving north korean soldiers now happening in places geographically close to davos than pyongyang. russia is turning into a version of north korea. a country where human life means nothing. but they have nuclear weapons and a burning desire to make their neighbors' lives miserable. even though russia's overall economic potential is smaller than europe's, it produces several times more military equipment than all of europe

combined. that's exactly the path of wars moscow chooses to take. putin signed a new strategic deal with iran. he already has a comprehensive treaty with north korea. who do they make such deals against? against you, against us, against europe, against america. we must not forget about it. it's not by chance these are there strategic priorities and our priorities must match the challenge in politics, in defense and in the economy. such threats can only be counted together. even when it comes to army size, russia can fill 1.3 million troops. we have more than 800,000 in our

military. second after us comes france with over 200,000. then, germany, italy and u.k. everyone else has less. this is not a situation where one country can secure itself alone. that is about all of us standing together to mean something. for now, thankfully, the influence of iran's regime is weakened. this gives hope for syria and lebanon, and they should become examples of how life can recover after war. ukraine is already supporting the new syria. our ministers have been to damascus and we have launched a food aid program for syria called food from ukraine. we are getting our partners involved to invest and building

food production facilities. and europe could totally step in as a security donor for syria. time to stop getting headaches from that direction. europe together with america should pay attention to the iranian threat. it is not clear whether europe will even have a seat at the table when the war against our country ends. and we see how much influence china has on russia. we are deeply grateful to europe for all the support it has given our country during this war. but, will president trump listen to europe or will he initiate with russia and china without europe? europe needs to learn how to fully take care of itself so that the world can't afford to

ignore it. it's vital to maintain unity in europe because the world does not care about brussels. it cares about europe as a whole. we need a united european security and defense policy. all european countries must be willing to spend as much on security as it truly needs it, not just as much as they have gotten used to during years of neglect. if it takes 5% of gdp to cover defense, then so be it. 5% it is. there's no need to play with peoples emotions. that defense should be compensated at the expense of medicine or pensions or something else. that is really not fair.

we have already set up operations for ukraine defense that can make all of europe stronger. we are building drones together, including some totally unique ones that no one else in the world has. we are producing artillery together. in ukraine, it is much cheaper and faster than any other country in the world. investing now in ukrainian drones production is necessary not only for the security of europe, but for the ability of europe to be a security guarantor for other vital regions. we need to start building air defense systems together. ones that can actually handle all types of cruise and ballistic missiles. europe needs its own version of the iron dome. something that can deal with any kind of threat. we can't rely on goodwill from a

few when it comes to europe's security and whether it is washington, london, paris, rome, or after putin kicks the bucket, some imaginary democrat in moscow someday. and we need to make sure no european country is dependent on a single energy supply, especially not russia. right now, on our side, president trump is going to export more energy. but, europe needs to step up and do more long-term work to secure real energy independence. you can't -- you can't keep buying gas from moscow while expecting security guarantees from america. for example, the prime minister

of slovakia is not seeking access to the e.u. gas and does not fall under the security umbrella. europe must have a seat at the table when deals about war and peace are made. i'm not just talking about ukraine. it should be the standard. europe deserves to be more than just a bystander. with its leaders reduced to posting on x after an agreement has already been made. europe needs to shape the terms of those deals. next, we need a completely new, bolder approach to tech companies and technological develop and. or europe will lose sanctuary. now europe is falling behind in the development of artificial intelligence.

already, tiktok's algorithm is more powerful than some governments. already the fate of small countries depend more on tech companies. already europe is not leading in the global tech race, falling behind both america and china. this is not a minor issue. it is about weakness, technological and economic and political. europe is often more focused on regulation than on freedom, but smart regulation is needed, brussels hesitates. we should ensure maximum tech development in europe and make significant decisions for all of europe. from weapons productions to tech development, europe must lead and europe must become the most

attractive market in the world. that is achievable. finally, europe must be able to guarantee peace. peace and security for everybody. for itself and for others, for those in the world who matter to europe. europe deserves to be strong and for this, europe needs the e.u. and nato. if it is possible without ukraine and without a just end to russia's war against ukraine, i am sure the answer is no. only a real security guarantee for us will serve as real security guarantees for everyone in europe. we must ensure that america also sees us as essential. for that to happen, america's focus must shift to europe so that one day in washington they

will say, all eyes on europe, and not because of war, but because of opportunities in europe. europe needs to know how to defend itself. hundreds of millions of people go to europe to see its landmarks, to loan from its cultural heritage. millions in the world dream of living like europeans do. will we be able to keep it and pass it to our children if we in europe can answer positively. america will need europe as well as other global players. europe must shape history for itself and its allies to remain not just relevant, but alive and great. thank you. [applause]

if i can use ukrainian it is good. >> your english is becoming so good. pres. zelenskyy: if you want to hear how it sounds. >> we are all in your hands. there is a headset, so give people time to take it down because they should not miss any of the nuances in your answers. pres. zelenskyy: thank you so much. how many questions do you have? mr. brende: depends on how long your answers are. [laughter] we have a backup. pres. zelenskyy: you have only one question?

mr. brende: i have a few. the war has almost gone on for three years now. it is incredible how you are holding up, but the pressure has increased as you said from russia and their allies. we are all wondering how your latest military strategy is and how the current state of hostilities are. last summer you decided to do the incursion into kursk. the first time since a world war a come -- a country took a piece of russia. at the same time, russia is pushing very hard in donbas. what is the current state of hostilities and what is part of

the strategy you can share with us today? pres. zelenskyy: that is not a simple question. with all the details. may including only one question. translator: thank you for this question. first and foremost i would like to say that we are still in the kursk region and our military is there. the russian federation lacked forces to push us out of there. today they have more than 60,000 troops there on that particular axis. apart from that there have been 12,000 north koreans, 4000 of whom have died.

and that was putin's strategy, to drag one more country into war. i will be frank. he signed something with iran and we did not for the moment find anything to drag iran into war, but i believe iran has been dragged into this war, since they started to hit our infrastructure, our hospitals, schools, with their long range drones. they also issued licenses to produce those drones in the territory of russia. i'm very grateful to our military that they are on the course axis and have dragged some of russian forces from the

east to that axis. and also, the city of kharkiv, that region is at the moment under our control. the people living there, it was very dangerous, the occupation of kharkiv because approximately 1.5 million people live there. a lot of people. and they are shelling it. when you look at them, it is admiration because they work there during the shillings. they do not leave their city, they are very patriotic, very strong. we are grateful to them. the kharkiv operation failed, putin's operation. we managed to stop them. then he wanted to occupy kyiv almost three years ago. here he wanted to start with the

north again and get to another city. then we were forced to deliver a preventative blow on the kursk axis and created a buffer zone between russian forces and our city which is why it is under our control. there are no russian and north korean troops in the north. they are pulled to the kursk axis. in the east we have a difficult situation. there is the biggest quantity of russian forces. they are pushing on a daily basis. we had a big problem with at first the delay for support. supply was low and supplies were on the go.

yes, our guys are fighting, everything is uneasy there on the other axises, the russians have failed. mr. brende: what is the strategy? translator: the strategy is, we must approach any sort of diplomacy that will lead to the end of the war. the issue is, what does diplomacy look like? if it is strong and ukraine has strong security guarantees to prevent putin from coming back with war again, then it will be a lasting, just, strong peace for ukraine and europe. for america as well, for the

whole world. but if security guarantees are weak, if there is uncertainty and only words, then you will get from russia only words and they will come back with war. mr. brende: mr. president, in your speech, you were underlining that ukraine is also playing a role as a bulwark against russia for the rest of europe, especially in some former eastern european countries. there is a lot of concerns for the future taking into account what has unfolded in ukraine and you argued for europe this should be the first priority. you said for america they have a transatlantic lotion between themselves and russia, but at

the same time, we know and you know that american support is also needed because they have half the military capabilities of the world. they are still a superpower. we are all reflecting on what will happen in washington, d.c. in the coming weeks. you met trump very times and it seems you established a relatively good personal chemistry, but what do you think will happen in the coming year? every war has to end. talking about the premise for a deal it also has to be future security for ukraine and no new wars. a question, you think you are in

a manageable situation in the coming months? also with the new trump administration? translator: thank you for the question. first and foremost, i would want everybody to understand where we and russia have been in 2022, where we and russia and america and europe are now. it seems to me this technical data is important to understand how, to support how and what influences and what are the risks for everybody else. if we recall, the full scale of russia in 02 -- 2022, we know

the russian military contingent constituted around 200,000 personnel. they have come from the north with this contingent with missiles, from the south, from the east, but they had around estimation 200,000 plus the separatists that still control parts of the east, donetsk and luhansk, the parts they control. it was difficult for us without anybody's help and i am very much grateful that america and europe have stepped in, but you must know that as of now 600,000, 600,000 -- 600,008

russian troops are on the territory of ukraine. that is three times multiplied the contingent that invaded us at the beginning of 2022. if somebody says there is enough aid, compared -- compare back then to now. back then, america's aid was around 90%. now, what our military has on the battlefield is 40% of ukrainian made supplies. 40% of the u.s. and around a bit more than 1/3 than the u.s. and a bit more is europe and around 40% is ukraine. that is what we have now. that is a huge difference and when somebody is saying how are you holding on?

we hold on because of the serious increase of domestic production and increasing production in europe and in the united states of america, but that is not sufficient because we have multiplied our increases. it is important to understand where we are, how to hold on without aid and what putin will do. look what he can do if there are no clear security guarantees. he increased his production by multiple times as well and i have given this example. he has more than 30 factories in the military sector read europe has 45, but he is producing almost two times more than

europe. he is investing everything, everything. but europe is not investing sufficiently and that is a fact. despite the fact europe has more technology capabilities. that is not taking into account the united states. and when you don't have strong security guarantees and the volumes have decreased, we will be forced to count on ourselves and europe and that is not enough. that is not enough. it is needed that europe and the u.s. be in alliance. if putin increases his military grouping to more than 600,000 troops, how do you think, if there are no strong security guarantees, no nato, no military deploy, no long-range weapons, no weapons, how do you think if

putin comes back, he will definitely come back with the army. 10 times more than the grouping he had in the beginning of 2022. it is already almost 4.5 times more than it was. when he comes back with this grouping, why will he come back? for the full occupation of the countries that are former republics of the ussr, that is number one. then he will do what he has done with our ukraine. he will come into other e.u. and nato countries to stand there, to do -- to issue ultimatums, make demands on the countries. somebody will have to leave nato, our baltic friends, finland, sweden.

he will be bringing us and everybody to the world that lives in his head. this is what will be happening, in case there are no strong security guarantees. one of the important questions that putin will pose and we will all see is to decrease the number of ukrainian military by many times. you will all see that because this is absolutely understandable. if we make our army 800,000 troops plus, it is understandable that we plus europe, we are an army capable not only to withstand and defend our borders, that is the army capable of repelling putin and he understands that. the fastest way is to push the united states that ukraine is

not in nato into push all the other allies that they push for ukraine to decrease. this is what he wants. we will not allow him to do that, but he will try to do that. it seems to me the main strategy with president trump is, we really have good relations with him. but we nowadays have pragmatic times and for us it is very important, voices sometimes around president trump delivering disinformation or pro-russian messages, for us it is important europe is loud so there are more voices around trump so he clearly understands

the details and the risks. risks that can be in the future. and very fast. trump, he told me and later publicly stated, he will be doing everything to end the war this year. i told him that we are your partner. we have this war in our territory. we know all the painful points and understand how painful it is for us. we have lost our people. that is the biggest loss for us. we want to end the war this year. justly, first and foremost, and reliable manner. for ukrainians to come back home, to live in security, to work. it seems to me this is the most important thing. at least we will be doing everything for it. [applause]

mr. brende: mr. president, i just don't think there is more to add. pres. zelenskyy: it was not interesting, you see. [laughter] mr. brende: i was coming to that in the next sentence. i felt the last piece was historic. i think you sent a historic reminder to all of us what is at stake. i was thinking about what winston churchill once said, the farther awkward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see. if you have seen something in the past, you have a special responsibility for not repeating it in the future. i think you feel here there is a lot of support for you and your country. thank you very much. pres. zelenskyy: thank you so much. [applause]