Ukraine’s president has called on NATO to provide “effective and unrestricted” support to his country, including any weapons it needs to fend off the Russian invasion.
Speaking on the eve of NATO and G7 summits in Brussels, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is “expecting serious steps” from the West and its allies.
“We ask that [NATO] declare that it will fully assist Ukraine to win this war, clear our territory of the invaders and restore peace in Ukraine,” he said, appealing to the Western countries to stay united in the face of Russia’s efforts to “lobby its interests”.
“We will see who is a friend, who is a partner and who has sold out and betrayed us,” he said in an emotional speech. “Together we should not allow Russia to break anyone in NATO, the EU or G-7, to break them and drag them to the side of war.”
Zelenskyy noted that Ukrainian skies are still not closed to Russian aircraft and missiles and that Ukraine hasn’t received the fighter jets or modern air-defense systems it requested.
He said Ukraine also needs tanks and anti-ship systems.
“It has been a month of defending ourselves from attempts to destroy us, wipe us off the face of the earth,” he said.
“We have lasted six times longer than the enemy had planned … but the Russian troops are destroying our cities, killing civilians indiscriminately, raping women, kidnapping children, shooting refugees, capturing aid columns and looting.”
