Ahead of the forum, Ukrainian officials met on Sunday with their counterparts from several partner countries to promote again
Ukraine's own 10-point vision for peace. Kiev has been sharing the plan with the public for months. Moscow rejected this.
Zelensky is also expected to speak during the forum. He is likely to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who will attend parts of the event.
“He wants to keep Ukraine at the forefront of everyone’s minds, for the most part,” said a person familiar with the Zelensky administration’s planning, who was granted anonymity to describe sensitive internal thinking.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, and as Ukraine pushes Russian ships back into the Black Sea, the ground campaign has turned into a stalemate, with both sides playing a game of artillery ping-pong. Last year's Ukrainian offensive achieved relatively few territorial gains. Moscow has also had limited success.
Meanwhile, Kiev's American and European allies are making increasing efforts to find enough weapons to send to Ukrainian fighters. In the United States, Kiev's largest donor, there are squabbles among lawmakers over the latest aid package for Ukraine.
US attention, and to some extent its resources, have been further strained by the war between Israel and Hamas. This conflict leads to skirmishes across the Middle East that could affect global energy supplies and trade routes.
Although his security is a serious concern, Zelensky has left Ukraine on several occasions to champion his country's cause in the face of dwindling interest. Skipping Davos may have seemed out of the ordinary, said Matthias Mattis, an analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations.
“He moved this thing so omnipresent that if it didn't come suddenly, it would look like it gave up, wouldn't it?” Mattis said.
These days, there is more talk than ever in some official circles and think tanks about whether it is possible to negotiate an end to the war between Moscow and Kiev.
Ignazio Cassis, the Swiss Foreign Minister who attended Sunday's meeting, told reporters in Davos that there could be no peace without Russia's participation in meaningful talks, but that Ukraine and its partners should not sit around waiting for Moscow to be ready.
“Russia is not currently ready to make any concessions,” he said, adding that it was worth bringing the two sides to the table during the “stalemate” in the fighting.
As their ten-point proposal shows, the Ukrainians do not completely rule out the peace negotiation proposal. But their demands – especially the restitution of all of Ukraine's territory – are likely to be too extreme for Russia. The Kremlin appears unwilling to give up the territory it has gained in Ukraine since its original seizure of Crimea and parts of the east of the country in 2014.
Many analysts also believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to seriously consider any such negotiations until after the US presidential election in November.
Putin may be betting that Republican Donald Trump will win the White House again; Trump has been friendly toward Putin and could end US support for Kiev.
Right now, Ukraine is trying to attract attention wherever it can. Its officials and activists have a list of events planned in Switzerland for this week. Many will be held in what is called “
Ukraine House Davos“.
Speakers are expected to include Bennie Pritzker, US Special Representative for Economic Recovery in Ukraine; Former US Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio); Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
Ulyana Khromyak, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Davos Forum, admitted that it will not be easy to attract the attention of a world that faces many different challenges.
One way she and her fellow organizers hope to get their message across is by sharing the latest statistics on what Ukraine has suffered, including more than 100,000 alleged cases of Russian atrocities.
They also plan to emphasize future business opportunities in Ukraine as it rebuilds, a theme that could resonate among the millionaires and billionaires in the Davos crowd.
“These millionaires, sometimes involved in politics, can also provoke question and discussion – and in a way [exert] “Influencing governments,” Khromyak said.
Ultimately, she said, Ukrainians have no choice but to continue making their case to an increasingly distracted world. “We know that attention has shifted away from Ukraine, but at the same time, soldiers are dying.”
Alexander Ward contributed to this report.
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