Ukraine will ask the United States for more heavy weapons to defeat Russia, Vladimir Zelensky said on Saturday, before what he said was a “very significant” visit to Kyiv by the US Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense on Sunday.
The Ukrainian president said the United States and the United Kingdom had provided his warring country with “the best military support” since Vladimir Putin’s invasion two months ago. He said he would present a “list of weapons” to the Biden administration on Sunday to thwart Russia’s ongoing attempt to seize the Donbass region.
With enough weapons, the Ukrainian military could regain “tomorrow” territory temporarily occupied by Russian forces to the south and east, Zelensky said. He acknowledged that his “Western partners” had recently accelerated arms supplies, especially to Washington.
Firefighters are passing a residential building damaged by Russian shelling in Odessa, Ukraine. Photo: Max Przybiszewski / AP
He praised European leaders who were brave enough to come to Ukraine in person and said he hoped US President Joe Biden would visit once the security situation allowed. He said his country did not need “tragic selfies”. Planes and tanks are needed instead, he suggested.
Earlier on Saturday, Zelensky thanked Boris Johnson in a phone call to train members of the Ukrainian army in the United Kingdom. A spokesman for number 10 said: “President Zelensky thanked the Prime Minister for the training of Ukrainian military personnel, which is currently taking place in the United Kingdom.
This comes after Johnson confirmed for the first time during his trade trip to India this week that Ukrainian forces are in the United Kingdom. More than 20 troops arrived last week to train the 120 armored vehicles being delivered to the resistance against Moscow, the government said.
Zelensky’s later requests for additional Western aid came at an emergency press conference in Kyiv. It took place deep underground, apparently chosen to protect the president from a Russian bomb attack. More than 200 journalists were called to the Khreshchatyk metro station.
After security checks, they descended several hundred meters on an escalator and then passed through a decorative Soviet building to a subway station in Independence Square. A silver podium was placed in front of the Ukrainian flag and trident. The trains passed unbelievably.
The president arrived at 7.30pm local time, surrounded by Ukrainian commandos. This was Zelensky’s biggest media event since Moscow promised in February to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine. The Kremlin’s plan to take Kyiv within days failed and has now turned into an open war of conquest.
In a meeting with his defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, last week, Putin was seen strangely clutching at the table. Asked by the Observer whether the disease could explain the Russian leader’s decision to invade Ukraine, Zelensky said: “It is difficult to judge.”
He stressed: “The Russian Federation has always wanted something like this to happen. Many Russians do not believe that we are independent. We are trying to repel the invading invasion. We are fighting for the right to life. This is a war for the freedom of Ukraine.
Zelensky compared the behavior of the Russian military in Ukraine to that of the German fascist forces that conquered Europe 80 years ago. “These are Russian Nazis. They will forever be recorded in history textbooks as barbarians, “he said, citing the killing of civilians, including women and children, and widespread rape.
Looking a little tired and dressed in a gray military fleece, Zelenski spoke passionately about the destruction of peaceful communities. He said five Russian rockets hit the port city of Odessa on Saturday, killing eight people in a residential building and injuring eight.
One of the dead was a three-month-old baby. “Try to figure it out. The war began when the child was one month old. These are pure bastards. They are monsters. This is horrible. They don’t care, “he said. A future war crimes tribunal will administer justice to Russian leaders, he added.
Zelensky reiterated his readiness to meet with Putin for face-to-face talks. “I’m not afraid,” he said after reports of several Russian plots to kill him. But he said Ukraine would suspend talks if Moscow continued next week with what he called a “pseudo-referendum” in the southern province of Kherson.
Russia seems ready to legitimize land grabbing by holding a fictitious vote in the occupied territories, similar to the 2014 “referendums” that created the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. A new vote would mean that the talks with Russia are “just a theater with very bad actors”, he said.
Zelenski described the situation in besieged Mariupol as “monstrous”. He acknowledged that Ukraine is facing hundreds of Russian armored vehicles and will not be able to “unblock” the port city or its steel mill, where civilians have taken refuge.
Russia has continued to bomb the Azovstal plant just hours after Putin promised to end all attacks, Zelensky said. Kyiv has offered to exchange civilians detained inside for Russian troops, but Moscow has rejected proposals for a “pragmatic dialogue”, he complained.
Zelensky said he was extremely proud of the Ukrainians who defended their country from Russian attack. “They are heroes,” he said. He also praised the media, describing them as “apostles” in the battle for truth at a time when Russia is bombarding its population with lies and misinformation.
The president said the war had brought his citizens together. It has also given the European Union a sense of common values and a new strategic goal for NATO, he suggested. “We have unity. We need weapons, “he said before disappearing down an escalator back to his presidential office.
On Thursday, the United States pledged $ 800 million for more weapons to Ukraine. Biden said he would ask Congress for more money and promised to send heavy artillery, dozens of howitzers and 144,000 rounds of ammunition, as well as tactical drones.
“We are currently in a critical period of time when they will prepare the stage for the next phase of this war,” Biden said, referring to Russia’s attack on Donbass. The United States and its allies are “moving as fast as possible” to provide Zelensky with the necessary equipment and weapons, Biden added.
Zelenski will meet with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Sunday.
In another development on Saturday, Turkey announced it was closing its airspace to Russian civilian and military planes flying to Syria.
The statement marks one of the strongest responses so far to Turkey, which has close ties with Moscow, despite being a member of NATO’s defense alliance, in Russia’s two-month military attack on Ukraine.
“We have closed the airspace to Russian military planes – and even civilian ones – flying to Syria. They had until April, and we asked for it in March, “Turkish media quoted Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying.
Cavusoglu said he handed the decision over to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, who then handed it over to Putin.
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