For the first time since the beginning of the war: Zelensky visits Austria

At the end of March 2023, Zelensky addressed the National Council via video link. The event was overshadowed by a boycott by FPÖ parliamentarians. A large part of the SPÖ deputies also stayed away.

The fact that Zelensky is coming to Vienna on Monday was reported by the "Kronen Zeitung" a week ago. However, the visit has not been officially confirmed by either the responsible Austrian or Ukrainian authorities.

Zelensky will be accompanied by his wife Olena Zelenska for the official visit to Vienna. The couple will be welcomed at 1:00 PM by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and his wife Doris Schmidauer. A reception with military honors will follow.

A joint press conference of the two heads of state is scheduled for 3:00 PM. Zelensky will also meet with Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP) and representatives from the business sector. Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger (NEOS) will pick up Zelensky from the airport. Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler (SPÖ) will also meet Zelensky for a working discussion. The SPÖ leader wants to offer him Austria as a location for future peace negotiations. Zelensky's delegation includes several ministers, including Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrij Sibyha. Bilateral Memoranda of Understanding and declarations of intent are to be signed.

Summit of the First Ladies

Zelenska, for her part, will participate in a meeting of the First Ladies and Gentlemen on Wednesday at the Hofburg. According to the daily newspaper "Die Presse," Suzanne Innes-Stubb, wife of the Finnish President, Aleš Musar, husband of Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar, and Lucrecia Peinando, the First Lady of Guatemala, have already confirmed their attendance. The host is Doris Schmidauer. The First Ladies and Gentlemen Summit has been held since 2021 on Zelenska's initiative, in Kyiv and as an online event. Schmidauer delivered a video message at such a meeting in September 2014.

The FPÖ sharply criticized Zelensky's visit. The Freedom Party submitted an urgent inquiry to Chancellor Stocker in the National Council because the visit coincides with the start of the budget debate in the National Council. "As is well known, this visit is the reason for the advancement of the general debate on the burden budget, which the government wants to escape as quickly as possible to pay homage to the head of a warring state and thus once again disregard Austria's neutrality," explained foreign policy spokeswoman Susanne Fürst.

Zelensky will not be able to stay long anyway. His office confirmed that he will participate in the G7 summit of the largest Western industrialized nations. The meeting takes place from Sunday to Tuesday in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Zelensky: Only Austria, Slovenia, and Cyprus not yet visited

Austria is one of the last EU countries that Zelensky has not yet visited. Only in Slovenia and Cyprus has the Ukrainian head of state also not been since the beginning of the war. However, Zelenska traveled to Slovenia for a working visit. Zelensky has even been to Hungary: The Ukrainian President participated in the European Political Community (EPC) summit in November 2024 in Budapest at the invitation of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Zelensky was also a guest in neutral Malta and presented his peace formula at a summit there.

However, Zelensky has already met with members of the ÖVP-SPÖ-NEOS government. The first bilateral trip in office for Foreign Minister Meinl-Reisinger led to Kyiv in early March, where she was received by Zelensky, among others. Chancellor Stocker had a one-on-one conversation with Zelensky. It took place on the sidelines of an EU summit in early March in Brussels. A free sovereign Ukraine is in the interest of Europe and the USA, Stocker explained. Austria has participated in supporting Ukraine within the framework of neutrality and will continue to do so, emphasized the Chancellor.

327 Million Euros in Aid

The NEOS leader, along with former manager Wolfgang Anzengruber, appointed a Ukraine special coordinator at the end of April. Anzengruber is to assist and coordinate the reconstruction efforts. The costs for the reconstruction of Ukraine are estimated at 500 billion euros. The economy is also expected to help. More than 200 Austrian companies are still directly active in Ukraine.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Austria has mobilized around 327 million euros in bilateral state financial and humanitarian aid for Ukraine and its particularly affected neighboring countries since the beginning of the war. This is in addition to support from Austrian federal states, private initiatives, and Austrian companies, as well as further contributions that Ukraine receives through Austria's share of EU support.

Zelensky Spoke to Austria Three Times

Since the beginning of the war, Zelensky has addressed Austrian politics and the public three times. At the end of March 2023, Zelensky spoke to the National Council via video link. He thanked Austria for its help and asked for support in demining. Via screen, he reported that in Ukraine, 174,000 square kilometers, about twice the area of Austria, are contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance. Zelensky emphasized to the deputies in the plenary hall that it is important "not to be morally neutral towards evil." The event was overshadowed by a boycott by FPÖ parliamentarians. A large part of the SPÖ deputies also stayed away.

At the end of June 2022, during the 4Gamechangers Festival in Vienna's Marx Halle, Zelensky thanked those "who understand who is to blame for this war" in a live broadcast. He defended the sanctions against Russia and warned of a "migration tsunami" from Africa. At a solidarity concert in March 2022 on Vienna's Heldenplatz, a pre-recorded video message from Zelensky was shown.

Square Closure at Vienna's Heldenplatz

A full-day square closure was imposed on Heldenplatz for Monday. The police prohibited entry to the restricted area, which also includes the Volksgarten and extends to Wallnerstraße, starting at 9:00 AM. The reading rooms of the National Library and the House of History remain closed. At the same time, there was a large police presence. Two rallies were announced: a demonstration in "support of Ukraine" and one against Zelensky's visit.

Pollster Peter Hajek does not expect any political upheavals from the visit. "I don't think it would lead to polarization," Hajek said in advance in an APA interview. "The FPÖ will be critical in any case, that is one of their core issues." The government is likely to try to take a "balanced stance" between support and advocating for peace. Hajek also referred to a survey he conducted last year: three-quarters of Austrians supported the fundamental support of Ukraine. Only 19 percent considered it absolutely wrong and were also in favor of lifting the sanctions against Russia, according to the expert.

Wolfgang Katzian, the president of ÖGB (Austrian Trade Union Federation) and EGB (European Trade Union Confederation), expressed "serious concern" on the occasion of the visit. He referred to the brief arrest of the president of the largest Ukrainian trade union federation FPU, Hryhorij Osowyj, in early April. "The arrest of the president of the largest Ukrainian trade union federation FPU and the seizure of its building are the preliminary peak of an increasingly repressive line of the Ukrainian government against independent, democratic trade unions," Katzian criticized in a statement on Monday.

(APA/Red)

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