Zelensky calls on EU leaders to provide more air defense systems, ammunition to Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine urged EU leaders to provide more air defense systems and ammunition to Ukraine.
The president said this in his speech at the meeting of the European Council, reports Ukrinform.
"All the air defense provided to Ukraine, in particular by European states, keeps our cities and villages alive. But the existing air defense systems are not enough to protect our entire territory from Russian terror. And it’s not a matter of hundreds of systems, but of an achievable number – to protect all the territory of Ukraine. I urge you to help to protect our cities – Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipro, Odesa, Kherson, and others. We need to give reliable protection to the skies above the frontline. We need to make Putin lose the battle for the Ukrainian sky, and if he does – he will lose the land as well,” Zelensky said.
In addition, he noted that the current scale of artillery use at the frontline by Ukrainian soldiers is “humiliating” for Europe in the sense that “Europe can provide more”.
“And it is crucial to prove it now,” Zelensky stressed.
According to him, Europe needs real defense self-sufficiency, and this can only be achieved by increasing weapons and ammunition output on the continent.
"Ukraine demonstrates that it can be done quite quickly. Please do not waste the time needed to activate defense production. The technological side of war is being updated, and it is necessary to keep up with the changes for the sake of the security of every country in Europe," said the Head of State.
He noted that Ukraine offers Europe to invest in the production of drones - one of the key types of weapons in modern warfare. "The potential of our drone production is sufficient, and sufficient funding is needed to realize this potential at the front. Everything we build for the defense of Ukraine will also work for the defense of our entire Europe," Zelensky added.
As reported, the Head of the Ministry of Defense of Estonia, Hanno Pevkur, during his visit to Kyiv on Thursday, announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth 20 million euros, which will include, in particular, artillery ammunition.
“Ukraine demonstrates that this can be done quite quickly. Do not waste the time required to activate defense production. The technological side of warfare is being updated, and we must keep up with these changes to ensure the security of all European states,” the head of state emphasized.
He added that Ukraine offers Europe to invest in the production of drones, one of the key weapons in modern warfare.
“Our drone production capacity is sufficient. Sufficient funding is required to realize this potential. Everything we build to protect Ukraine will also serve to protect all of our Europe,” Zelensky said.
As reported earlier, the Head of the Ministry of Defense of Estonia, Hanno Pevkur, during his visit to Kyiv on Thursday, announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth EUR 20 million, which will include artillery rounds, among other things.