Ukraine: Kyiv calls on West to “accelerate” arms supplies, Moscow warns

The two ministers urged the dozens of countries, including Turkey, which is mediating the conflict, and Germany, which according to Ukrainians has been slow to respond to Kiev’s demands, to deliver the Leopard 2 tanks as soon as possible. The most pressing and urgent needs of the Ukrainian military”.

Later in the afternoon, the Ukrainian president reiterated this call, calling on its Western allies to supply tanks. “There are no barriers. From Washington to London, from Paris to Warsaw, one thing is being said: Ukraine needs tanks; this is the key to ending the war,” Zelensky’s adviser Myhailo Podoliak said on Twitter. “It’s time to stop cowering in front of Putin and take the last step,” he insisted.

An important meeting

The call comes ahead of a crucial Ukraine Liaison Committee meeting in Ramstein, Germany, to coordinate continued aid to Kiev as the Russian military throws its forces into the Battle of Baghmoud (East). Oleksiï Reznikov and Dmytro Kouleba demanded that international military aid “be raised to a new level in terms of quality”.

But from Thursday, Britain has pledged to supply Ukraine with an additional 600 Brimstone missiles, Denmark is to deliver 19 of its French-made Caesar guns and Sweden’s Archer self-propelled guns. The systems all have a range of several tens of kilometers, but less than claimed by the Ukrainians.

London has already pledged 14 Challenger 2 heavy tanks to Kyiv and Poland says it is ready to send 14 German-made Panther 2 tanks, far short of the hundreds of vehicles Ukraine says it needs for future offensives.

At this point, “Russia retains a significant advantage in terms of troops, weapons, and military equipment,” Oleksiï Reznikov and Dmytro Kouleba lament, despite already significant Western financial and military aid. “We call on these countries and other countries with relevant capabilities to join efforts to create an international tank coalition in support of Ukraine,” the two ministers stressed on Thursday.

They also “guaranteed” that Ukraine would use these weapons responsibly and exclusively for the purpose of protecting Ukraine’s territorial integrity within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders.

Oleksiï Reznikov and Dmytro Kouleba also “welcomed the UK’s “courageous and welcome decision” to announce “the transfer of the first squadron of Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine” last Saturday.

Moscow’s warning

“However, this is not sufficient to achieve operational objectives.” They pleaded In their joint press release. They warned that the “Kremlin remains committed to further intensifying hostilities” and “has not changed its intentions regarding Ukraine to (destroy) it”.

“We hear your message. You need more air defense and artillery systems, more ammunition,” Charles Michael said on Twitter after a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky. The President of the Council of Europe visited Kyiv on Thursday. He said the Ukrainians should be given tanks because “the next few weeks are decisive” on the front.

During a joint press conference, he also confirmed discussions between EU member states for the tenth round of economic sanctions targeting Russia. At the same time, EU diplomatic chief Joseph Borrell Moscow’s reference to the Holocaust in its condemnation of Western support for Ukraine was deemed “unacceptable and repugnant”.

For its part, the Kremlin has warned that the West’s supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine capable of striking deep into Russian territory could lead to a dangerous escalation of armed conflict between Kiev and Moscow. “This is very dangerous, it means that it will reach a new level, which does not promise anything good for European security,” declared Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian president.