President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine needed new weapons and faster delivery to cope with the “very difficult” situation in Donetsk when Russia repeatedly attacked.
“The situation is very difficult. Bakhmut, Vuhledar and other regions in Donetsk are regularly subject to Russian attacks. They are constantly trying to break through our defenses,” Zelensky said in a statement. video demonstration on the night of January 29.
“Russia wants the conflict to prolong and exhaust our forces. So we must accelerate actions, speed up supplies and open up new weapons options for Ukraine.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at the US Congress on December 21. Photo: AFP.
President Zelensky made his latest call for an increased supply of weapons just days after Germany and the United States agreed to provide combat tanks to Ukraine.
He said on January 28 that Ukraine urgently needed US-made ATACMS missiles with a range of about 300 km, which Washington has so far refused to provide. An adviser to President Zelensky said that negotiations on the supply of long-range missiles and fighter jets were proceeding “rapidly”.
In his latest comment, Mr Zelensky pledged to ensure that “our pressure will outweigh the offensive capabilities of our opponents”, and that means “partners need to maintain defensive support for we”.
“The enemy does not care about their manpower and despite the large amount of damage, they still maintain the intensity of their attack,” he said. “Facing this requires extraordinary fighting spirit and the full awareness of the soldiers that defending Donetsk is also protecting the whole of Ukraine.”
Vu Hoang (Theo Reuters)