Zelensky comments on Germany blocking NATO arms supplies to Ukraine: Fear still prevails

President Volodymyr Zelensky has assured that it’s solely for defense purposed that Ukraine needs to buy anti-drone rifles and anti-sniper systems from NATO – the deal Germany is blocking.

The comment came in an interview with Italy’s La Repubblica, which has been translated into Ukrainian and posted by the president’s press service, Ukrinform reports.

"Germany has recently prevented us from getting along the NATO lines anti-drone rifles and anti-sniper systems, which are exclusively defensive tools. Aren’t we entitled to have them in the eighth year of war? Obviously, we are. Any democracy that protects itself from aggression should have the right to acquire such defense instruments. In some capitals, however, fear still prevails," Zelensky said.

The president stressed that Ukraine wasn’t caught off its guard by the latest developments on its eastern borders, adding that Russia had started the war in 2014 and that since then, Ukraine has been ready for any scenario. However, Zelensky opined that this isn’t the case for all European countries.

“What are the troops, amassed near our border, being used for? This is blackmail potential, first of all, against the western powers. But if the number of Russian troops increases, blackmail will become even more severe, which could then be seen as preparations for expanding aggression against our country and, possibly, the region as a whole," the head of state stressed.

Earlier, Bild reported that Germany had been applying NATO's mechanism since May 2021 to prevent other Allies from selling defensive weapons to Ukraine.

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