RAMSTEIN, Germany — Vlodymyr Zelenskyy pushed for more timely military aid as he met allies in Germany, stressing that the “number of air defense systems not yet delivered is significant.”
The Ukrainian president said his country must gain access to every support package announced so far “without delay.”
Zelenskyy addressed allies at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Ramstein, Germany, hosted by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
He said that in the one month since his troops embarked on the Kursk offensive, “We have turned the tables and are pushing the war into Russia through counteroffensives.”
However, he added, Ukraine needs “more weapons to drive Russian forces off our land … We need to have this long-range capability not only on the occupied territory of Ukraine, but also on the Russian territory.”
His plea comes days after one of the deadliest strikes in the war so far, which saw 55 people killed and 300 wounded as a Russian missile hit the city of Poltava.
Washington announced it would provide another $250 million in security assistance to Kyiv ahead of the meeting, while U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey pledged £162 million for 650 new multi-role missiles.
Mindful of Zelenskyy’s request for speed, a senior U.K. government official, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said the aim was to start supplying missiles by the end of the year.
The gathering in Germany comes as Russian forces continue to advance in the Donbas area of eastern Ukraine, with Vladimir Putin declaring Thursday that capturing the eastern area was his “primary objective” in the conflict.
Zelenskyy is also facing pressure on the domestic front as the Ukrainian opposition criticized a government reshuffle which saw the exit of Dmytro Kuleba, who had led the foreign ministry since 2020.
