Ukraine’s president calls on NATO for “unlimited” military aid

Speaking before the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium on March 24, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine needed support. military “unlimited” to protect people and cities from the Russian military campaign.

Zelensky said that Ukraine needs fighter jets, tanks, anti-ship weapons and improved air defense systems to repel the Russian military as the conflict enters its second month.

“NATO can give us 1% of the bloc’s total aircraft. 1% of the bloc’s total tanks. Only 1%!” said Mr. Zelensky.

“NATO has thousands of warplanes, but we have not been provided with a single one… We have asked NATO for tanks so that we can open our cities… NATO has at least 20,000 tanks… but we don’t have a clear answer yet,” added Mr. Zelensky.

President Zelensky believes that Russia’s military campaign does not stop only in Ukraine.

“I’m sure NATO understands that Russia has no intention of stopping in Ukraine. Russia wants to go further. Against NATO members in the east. The Baltic states,” Zelensky stressed.

Although NATO is expected to increase its support for Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would not send troops or warplanes to Ukraine.

“We have a responsibility to make sure that the conflict in Ukraine does not turn into an all-out war between NATO and Russia. We will not deploy troops in Ukraine, because that would lead to an all-out conflict. with the Russian military,” Stoltenberg said, when asked about Poland’s proposal to send peacekeepers to Ukraine.

President Zelensky said he appreciates the support Ukraine has received from NATO member states.

“But NATO has yet to show what the alliance can do to save the Ukrainian people. We seem to be in a gray zone between the West and Russia, but we are still defending all of our common values. and NATO,” Zelensky said.

During the four weeks of hostilities, President Zelensky repeatedly called on the West to supply weapons and establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine. However, the US and its allies announced that there were no plans to send warplanes or create a no-fly zone over Ukraine for fear of the risk of a direct conflict with Russia.

President Zelensky said he was “no longer interested” in joining NATO after realizing that NATO was “not ready to join Ukraine”. “This alliance is afraid of contradictions, afraid of confrontation with Russia,” Zelensky said.

In a joint statement after the summit in Brussels on March 24, NATO leaders agreed to strengthen defenses in the east in response to the Russian military campaign.

“In response to Russia’s actions, we have activated NATO defense plans, deployed components of the NATO Response Force and placed 40,000 troops on our eastern flank, along with important air and naval assets,” the statement said.

In a statement after the NATO summit, US President Joe Biden announced that NATO had agreed to create four new combat groups in Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary.

“The creation of new combat groups is a strong signal that we will come together to defend every inch of NATO territory,” Biden said, adding that the United States would continue to support the president. Zelensky and the Ukrainian government.