Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked Western partners for more supplies of military aid to his country. He mainly requested supplies of Patriot air defense systems.
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin must be brought down to earth and our skies must become safe again… And it depends entirely on your choice… the choice of whether we are truly allies,” Zelenskyy said in a speech to NATO member states. Reuters drew attention to his words.
This year alone, Zelenskyy said, almost 1,200 Russian missiles, more than 1,500 drones and 8,500 guided bombs have attacked Ukraine.
“We’ll say it straight – we need seven more ‘Patriots’ or similar air defense systems for defense, and that’s the minimum number. They can save many lives and really change the situation,” said the Ukrainian president.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg announced after a meeting between allied defense ministers and Zelensky that the allies had agreed to provide Kiev with additional air defense systems.
However, Zelenskyi heard from the Polish side that he was unlucky and would not receive the Patriot systems from the government in Warsaw.
Poland has, according to the Kyiv Independent server the Patriot system was installed at Rzeszow Airport, which is a key logistics hub for the delivery of defense aid to Ukraine. Sending this system to Ukraine is out of the question because it was installed by the US military to protect the airport, Tusk said.
“As far as the Patriots are concerned, we don’t have that reserve,” Tusk said.
However, he added in one breath that Poland can provide Ukraine with other assistance. But he did not specify exactly what kind of help he had in mind.
On April 13, Germany announced that it would provide Kiev with another Patriot system, its third. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz then called on other NATO allies to do the same.
Poland has so far allocated 4.301 billion euros ($4.578 billion) in aid to Ukraine, of which 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) is military aid, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu highlighted ongoing Russian offensive operations near Khasiv Yar, Avdiivka and Donetsk and announced that Russia intends to intensify a strike campaign to disrupt Ukrainian logistics. The Washington Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on the words of the Russian Defense Minister, saying that Shoigu tries to present operations with questionable results as very successful.
“Russian forces are likely to intensify ongoing offensive operations in the coming weeks to take advantage of Ukrainian materiel constraints ahead of the expected arrival of US security assistance. … Shoigu also announced that Russian forces would intensify strikes against Ukrainian logistics centers and Western-supplied weapons depots,” the institute said.
“Russian forces are likely to intensify drone and missile strikes in the coming weeks to maximize damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure and defense industrial base capacity before the expected arrival of US security assistance begins to alleviate Ukraine’s critical air defense missile shortage,” ISW continued.
The institute claims that the Russian armed forces are undergoing reform. Probably in order to prepare for a future clash with NATO, which the Russians present as an effort to defend against excessive activities of the alliance.
Add PL to your favorite feeds on Google News. Thank you
Did you like this article?
You can support the independence of our editorial office with a monetary donation of any amount by bank transfer to the following account:
131-981500247/0100
The QR code contains payment information, determine the amount yourself.
Are you a politician? Post whatever you want without editing. Register HERE.
Are you a reader and want to communicate with your representatives? Register HERE.
Ukraine (War in Ukraine)
Reports from the battlefield are difficult to verify in real time, regardless of whether they come from any side of the conflict. Both warring parties, for understandable reasons, may release completely or partially false (misleading) information.
PL editorial content discussing this conflict can be found on this page.
war in Ukraine
Reports from the battlefield are difficult to verify in real time, regardless of whether they come from any side of the conflict. Both warring parties, for understandable reasons, may release completely or partially false (misleading) information.
You can find brief information regarding this conflict updated by ČTK several times an hour on this page. PL editorial content discussing this conflict can be found on this page.
author: Miloš Polák
FactChecking BETA
A factual error in reporting? Help us fix it.
Examine
Tags: Ukraine disappointed closest ally
-
