Zelenskyy Wins Backing From Austria    06/17 06:19

   

   VIENNA (AP) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy drew pledges of 
non-military help from neutral Austria on Monday, a day before he was expected 
to press U.S. President Donald Trump for more military support in Ukraine's 
fight against Russia.

   The Ukrainian leader, in his first visit to Austria since the full-blown 
Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, wrote on Telegram that the two 
countries signed agreements on issues like de-mining, energy and cybersecurity 
after meetings involving President Alexander Van der Bellen and Chancellor 
Christian Stocker.

   Zelenskyy is expected to attend the G7 summit in Canada and was set to meet 
with Trump there on Tuesday, though the White House announced that Trump would 
be returning unexpectedly to Washington on Monday night instead of Tuesday 
night because of tensions in the Mideast. Shortly before the announcement, 
Trump urged everyone to evacuate Tehran, saying Iran should have agreed to a 
nuclear deal.

   The Ukrainian leader said one of the topics up for discussion with Trump 
would be a defense package that Ukraine is ready to buy from the United States.

   "We will discuss it with him," Zelenskyy said. "I am sure we will have such 
opportunity, at least I count on it."

   At a joint news conference, Van der Bellen alluded to Austria's tradition of 
neutrality on military matters, but said his country was "by no means 
politically neutral" and sides with Ukraine in its defense against Russia -- 
including through European Union sanctions against Moscow.

   The Austrian leader, whose office is largely ceremonial, condemned Russia's 
aggression against Ukraine and called on the Kremlin to "end this illegal war 
and start serious and honest negotiations."

   He pledged Austria's support for EU sanctions and support with the 
reconstruction of Ukraine when the war ends.

   There's no immediate sign of that happening anytime soon. Earlier Monday, 
Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 138 strike and decoy drones at Ukraine 
overnight, mainly at the eastern Donetsk region. Of those, 125 were either 
intercepted or jammed, while 10 reached their targets. Eight others caused 
damage as falling debris.

   Zelenskyy thanked Austria and its president for their "continuous support of 
Ukraine's just position in its fight for independence."

   Alluding to talks over possible prisoner exchanges with Russia, Zelenskyy 
that Russian negotiators at one point had suggested exchanging Ukrainian 
children for captured Russian soldiers, which he called "madness."

   "This is beyond comprehension, beyond international law, and, frankly, in 
line with (Russia's) usual behavior," Zelenskyy said.

   Austria is famously neutral -- a stance it declared in 1955 after World War 
II -- and Vienna has come under heavy criticism since the start of the 
Russia-Ukraine war for maintaining ties with Moscow.

   Austria, which was annexed by Nazi Germany in the run-up to World War II, 
declared neutrality after the war under pressure from Western allies and the 
Soviet Union. It sought a role as a mediator between East and West, developing 
ties with Moscow that outlasted the Cold War.

   The Austrian government has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine but also 
stressed the need to maintain diplomatic relations with Moscow. Vienna has sent 
humanitarian aid to Ukraine but no weapons.

   Former Chancellor Karl Nehammer was the first EU leader to meet Russian 
President Vladimir Putin face-to-face after the war started. Nehammer traveled 
to Moscow in April 2022 in a fruitless attempt to persuade the Russian leader 
to end the invasion.