Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, visibly irritated, demanded yesterday, Saturday, that Western countries provide a small portion of their arsenal and asked if they were afraid of Moscow.
Several countries have pledged to send anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, as well as lighter weaponry. However, Zelenskyy stressed that Kyiv needs tanks, fighter jets, and anti-ship weapon systems.
«Our partners have these, and they’re just gathering dust where they are. All of this is not only for Ukraine’s freedom, but for the freedom of all of Europe,» Zelenskyy said in a video message late Saturday night.
According to him, Ukraine needs only 1% of NATO aircraft and 1% of the North Atlantic Alliance’s battle tanks, and he pledged that it would not ask for more.
«We’ve been waiting for 31 days. Who is in charge of the Euro-Atlantic community? Is it really still Moscow, because of intimidation?» he said.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly emphasized that Russia will attempt to expand further into Europe if Ukraine «falls.» But NATO does not support his request to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, on the grounds that it would trigger a full-scale military conflict.
Earlier yesterday, Saturday, Zelensky spoke with Polish President Andrzej Duda and expressed his disappointment that Russian-made fighter jets in Eastern Europe had not been sent toUkraine.
«The price of inaction regarding the aircraft is thousands of Ukrainian lives,» Zelenskyy said, according to a statement from the Ukrainian presidency. He noted that both Poland and the U.S. had expressed their readiness to make the relevant decision.
A few weeks ago, Washington had rejected Poland’s surprise proposal to transfer MiG-29 fighter jets to a U.S. base in Germany to be used to bolster the Ukrainian Air Force.
