Zelensky says NATO should determine if alliance and Ukraine ‘indeed are allies’ | EUROtoday

Issued on: 19/04/2024 – 22:10

2 min

“Our sky must become safe again,” Zelensky stated throughout a video convention with NATO defence ministers.

“It depends fully on your choice. Choice whether life is indeed equally valuable everywhere. Choice whether you have an equal attitude to all partners. Choice whether we indeed are allies,” he stated.

Casting a bleak image of his forces’ capability to carry off Russian assaults on the bottom and from the air, Zelensky stated Ukraine couldn’t defend itself with out Western help.

“It is obvious that now, while Russia has air advantage and can rely on its drone and rocket terror, our capabilities on the ground, unfortunately, are limited,” he stated.

Zelensky referred to as a Saturday vote within the US House of Representatives on whether or not to unlock a long-delayed $61 billion army assist bundle a “vitally important decision”.

The assist has been delayed since final yr amid political infighting within the Republican Party.

Speaking after one other week of Russian aerial barrages that killed and injured dozens throughout the nation, the Ukrainian chief stated Kyiv wanted extra air defence techniques to guard Ukrainian cities and save lives.

“To defend, we need seven more ‘Patriots’ or similar air defence systems — and it’s a minimum number. They can save many lives and really change the situation,” Zelensky informed a gathering of the NATO-Ukraine Council.

He additionally careworn the urgency of getting maintain of the much-needed arms.

“This year we can’t wait for decisions to be made,” he stated.

Ukraine is reliant on Western, primarily US, army help to fend off the Russian invasion.

Western techniques, comparable to longer-range rockets, have beforehand been credited with permitting Ukraine to match the better-supplied Russian troops.

But Kyiv has additionally complained that promised deliveries all through the two-year battle have typically arrived too late or in too small numbers to have a decisive impression on the battlefield.

(AFP)