Volodymyr Zelensky again demands weapons from Western countries
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, visibly irritated, on Saturday March 26 demanded that Western countries provide some of their military equipment to Ukraine and asked them if they were afraid of Moscow.
Several countries have pledged to send anti-armour systems, anti-aircraft missiles as well as small arms to Ukraine, but Volodymyr Zelensky said kyiv needs tanks, planes and anti-ship systems.
“It’s what our partners have that is gathering dust at home. All this is not only for the freedom of Ukraine, but for the freedom of Europe”, he said in a video address. Ukraine would only need 1% of NATO’s aircraft and 1% of its tanks and would not ask for anything more, he added.
“We have already waited thirty-one days. Who runs NATO? Is it still Moscow, with intimidation? »he asked.
Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly said that Russia will seek to expand into Europe if Ukraine falls. NATO, however, did not support his request to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
“The price of procrastination will be the lives of thousands of Ukrainians”
Earlier in the day, Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, to whom he expressed his disappointment that the Russian-made fighter jets present in Eastern Europe had no not yet transferred to Ukraine, the Ukrainian president’s office said in a statement.
“The price of procrastination will be the lives of thousands of Ukrainians”, the statement said, quoting Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian foreign minister claimed that the United States had assured kyiv that it had no ” no objection “ to the transfer of Polish combat aircraft to Ukraine
On March 8, visibly taking the United States by surprise, Poland announced that it was “ready to move all its MIG-29 aircraft to the Ramstein base without delay and free of charge [en Allemagne] and to make them available to the Government of the United States.to then be handed over to Ukraine.
Washington initially judged that this offer was not “viable”. The next day, the Pentagon definitively rejected the Polish proposal.
