The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday pilled up strong pressure on Western allies to see reasons for providing Kyiv with more heavy weapons to fight Russia on the eve of a key donor meeting.
Barely 24 hours after a helicopter crash outside Kyiv killed one of his key ministers, the Ukrainian leader called out Germany for its hesitance to supply its modern Leopard tanks — unless the United States also gives tanks.
‘There are times where we shouldn’t hesitate or shouldn’t compare,’ Zelensky told the annual World Economic Forum gathering in Davos via video-link.
‘When someone says ‘I will give tanks if someone else will also share tanks’… I don’t think this is the right strategy to go with.‘
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Zelensky’s most recent fervent appeal for weaponry comes a day before the US, Kyiv’s primary ally, hosts a gathering of about 50 nations — including all 30 members of the NATO alliance — to discuss military assistance to Ukraine at the US-run Ramstein military installation in Germany.
According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, ‘the key message there (at Ramstein) will be more assistance and more advanced support, heavier weapons, and more current weaponry because this is a struggle for our values.’
Many of Ukraine’s friends, most notably Britain, which over the weekend became the first Western country to offer heavy tanks, have indicated preparations to increase their military assistance to Kyiv this month despite the possibility of upsetting Russia.
The United States has promised to send its powerful Bradley armoured fighting vehicles, while France has offered its highly mobile AMX-10 RCs — offensive weapons long seen as off-limits by hesitant Western nations.
Sweden announced on Thursday it would supply its modern long-range Archer artillery units.
Africa Today News, New York reports that in Ukraine, air raid sirens wailed early on Thursday in Kyiv and throughout the country, a day after a helicopter crash outside the capital killed the interior minister and 13 others near a kindergarten.
Zelensky said the investigation into the accident was ongoing, with several theories being examined.
The crash killed Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, 42, one of Zelenskyy’s key aides who was involved in exchange of prisoners of war, among other tasks.
He was the highest-ranking Ukrainian official to die since Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022.