Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy yesterday urged Western allies to deliver tanks to his country at a key defense conference in Germany, although Moscow said the weapons would not change anything on the battlefield.
Addressing the US-hosted donor meeting at the Ramstein Air Base, Zelenskiy implored Western allies to “speed up” arms deliveries in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Partners needed “not to bargain about different numbers of tanks, but to open that principal supply that will stop evil,” he said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Make the meeting a “Ramstein of tanks,” Zelenskiy said, calling for future gatherings to “go down in history as a Ramstein of F16s and long-range missiles.”
“It is in your power to guarantee such artillery,” he said via videoconference.
The meeting’s host, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, urged Western allies to “dig even deeper” to support Ukraine with military aid at a crucial time, adding that Russia is “running out of ammunition and suffering significant battle losses.”
Photo: REUTERS
“This is a decisive moment for Ukraine. The Ukrainian people are watching us, the Kremlin is watching us, and history is watching us,” he told the representatives from 50 countries.
The Kremlin responded by accusing the West of harboring a “dramatic delusion” that Ukraine can win on the battlefield, adding that the conflict was “developing in an upward spiral.”
On the eve of the Ramstein talks, the US and other states announced substantial new arms shipments.
The Pentagon on Thursday released a list of US$2.5 billion of supplies for Ukrainian forces, including Bradley fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, air defense systems, and tens of thousands of rockets and artillery rounds.
The UK said it would send 600 Brimstone missiles, Denmark said it would donate 19 French-made Caesar howitzers, and Sweden promised Archer artillery systems.
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