Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made an unannounced visit on December 14 to a U.S. Army base in Germany as a crucial European Union summit got under way in Brussels and as he tries to ensure that Western countries will continue to send military aid.
Zelenskiy arrived at the U.S. Army base in Wiesbaden where the U.S. Defense Department last year established a new organization to coordinate long-term security force assistance.
The purpose of the trip is "to visit the [U.S.] military base in Wiesbaden, from where the assistance from partners is coordinated," said Zelenskiy spokesman Serhiy Nykyforov.
Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, posted a German flag and a flexed bicep on X, formerly Twitter.
The trip to Wiesbaden comes on the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his annual press and call-in event that support for Ukraine from the West "may end at some point and apparently it’s coming to an end little by little.”
Zelenskiy earlier called on leaders attending the EU summit to green-light Kyiv's opening of membership negotiations with the 27-member bloc and told them that a negative vote would "betray" Ukrainians' European dreams and embolden Russia in its aggression against Ukraine.
The summit is set to be dominated by a clash between EU leaders and Prime Minister Viktor Orban over Hungary's opposition to both starting membership negotiations with Ukraine and approving a multibillion-dollar aid package for Kyiv.
"I ask you one thing today -- do not betray the people and their faith in Europe," Zelenskiy said in an address to the leaders via video link, adding that a decision by the bloc against opening negotiations with Kyiv would only play into Russian President Vladimir Putin's hands.
"People in Europe won't see any benefit if Moscow receives a pass from Brussels in the form of negativity towards Ukraine. Putin will surely use this against you personally, and against all of Europe," Zelenskiy warned.
SEE ALSO: Putin Tells Russians War In Ukraine To Continue, Goals Remain The SameBut Orban walked into the summit appearing determined not to budge.
"There is no reason to negotiate membership of Ukraine now. Preconditions were not met. We have to come back to it later on," Orban said as he arrived for the summit, in an apparent reference to European Parliament elections in June.
Orban, who maintains warm relations with Putin, is opposing a 50 billion-euro ($54 billion) financial aid package for Ukraine and is against starting membership negotiations with Ukraine, which secured EU candidate status together with Moldova in June last year.
In an apparent last-ditch attempt to change Orban's mind, the European Council said that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet with the Hungarian leader ahead of the summit.
Zelenskiy has said his country, which needs EU funds to help its economy survive in the coming year, has done its homework and meets the necessary criteria despite being involved in a war for survival against invading Russian forces.
"I count on EU leaders recognizing Ukraine's efforts and taking this historic step," he said on social media. "Ukraine fulfilled its part and proved that it can achieve tremendous results despite unprecedented challenges."
"I believe that unity will prevail at the summit and that the EU will reaffirm its strength and leadership," he said.
The two-day summit comes just days after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy failed to convince Republican lawmakers during a trip to the United States to unblock a critical military and economic package worth $60 billion for Ukraine that Kyiv desperately needs as its battle to stave off Russia's invasion nears the three-year mark.
SEE ALSO: Biden Hails Ukraine's Fight Against Russia As 'Victory,' Urges Congress To Speed Additional AidOrban's opposition appears to be used as a bargaining chip in his dispute with the EU, which has frozen billions of euros in funds for Budapest over a rule-of-law dispute.
On December 13, the European Commission, the EU's executive, agreed to unblock 10 billion euros for Hungary it what appeared to be a goodwill gesture toward Budapest ahead of the summit.
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Zelenskiy, who had a brief meeting with Orban last week in Argentina, has said that Hungary has "no reason" to oppose Kyiv starting accession talks with the 27-member bloc.
Orban last week wrote European Council President Charles Michel a letter demanding that Ukraine's membership in the European Union be taken off the agenda at the summit.
The council "must avoid this counterproductive scenario for the sake of unity, which is our most important asset," Orban said in his second letter to Michel in as many weeks about Ukraine's prospective EU membership.
But the letter did not say outright that Hungary would veto any moves to open membership talks with Ukraine.
Decisions on the enlargement of the bloc and a review of its long-term budget, which includes the aid for Ukraine, must be agreed unanimously by all 27 member countries.
Zelenskiy on December 13 made a surprise visit to Norway on his way back from Washington and met with Nordic leaders, whom he told that Ukraine cannot win its war with Russia without Western help.
Norway, which is not an EU member, announced a 3 billion-krone ($273 million) disbursement for Kyiv, which is part of a larger, 75 billion-krone aid package over five years.