Hailed as a European hero on his arrival in Brussels on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged EU leaders to accelerate the promised delivery of modern long-range weapons.
The Ukrainian leader warned during an EU summit that he could not return empty-handed from what was only his second foreign trip since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion just under a year ago.
With a renewed Russian offensive piling pressure on Kyiv’s forces in the east, the former actor turned world leader urged his allies to turn what he said were their “positive signals” into “concrete” words.
Photo: Reuters
After Wednesday’s visits to London and Paris to lobby Britain, France and Germany for advanced jets and long-range missiles, Zelenskiy flew to Brussels to address EU leaders and the European Parliament.
Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation as he portrayed Ukraine as the country fighting to defend Europe’s eastern borders and urged a rapid welcome into the EU fold.
“We are defending against the most anti-European force of the modern world — we are defending ourselves, we Ukrainians on the battlefield, along with you,” Zelenskiy said.
After the parliamentary address, Zelenskiy joined the 27 leaders of the EU member states as a special guest at their regular summit, invited by the European Council president to make an opening address.
“I have to thank you personally for your unwavering support of our country and our aspirations, our aspirations to live in a united, free Europe,” he told them.
However, he also warned that Ukraine needs to receive artillery, munitions, modern tanks, long-range missiles and jets faster than Russia can prepare what he said would be a dangerous new offensive.
He said he saw “positive signals, concerning the respective weapons” from EU leaders and expressed hope they would become a “concrete voice.”
After hours of talks, Zelenskiy left the summit and had an audience with King Philippe of Belgium.
European Council President Charles Michel, host of the summit, said that the summit had allowed EU leaders to “make it clear that they are ready to provide more military support.”
“The next weeks and the next months will probably be decisive,” Michel said.
Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger wrote on Twitter that he had heard Zelenskiy’s plea for weapons, saying he would try to get MiG-29 jets “to protect your sky and people.”
However, some EU leaders were warier, fearing it could drag the West closer to direct conflict with Russia.
“There are many sensitive issues to be discussed, the pros and cons,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that even if jets were sent to Kyiv, it would not be in “the coming weeks.”
“I’m not ruling anything out ... but that doesn’t correspond to today’s requirements,” Macron said yesterday after the Brussels summit.
“It is essential the allies favor the most useful equipment” and “the fastest,” he added, citing the Caesar guns and the MAMBA medium-range surface-to-air defence system supplied by France.
Polish Prime Mnister Mateusz Morawiecki said that his country “will not be the first to hand over fighters,” but would welcome others leading the way.
The Kremlin reacted with a warning.
“We see this as a growing engagement of Germany, UK, France in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The boundary between indirect and direct engagement is gradually disappearing. We can only regret it,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
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