Ukraine needs just one per cent of aircraft and tanks that are stationed in NATO countries, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, accusing Kyiv’s Western allies of being indecisive in terms of military assistance to Ukraine.
“Only 1 per cent of all NATO aircraft and 1 per cent of all NATO tanks, 1 per cent – we are not asking for more,” Zelenskyy said in a video address posted on his Telegram channel.
In his speech to 27 European leaders released on Friday, Zelenskyy criticized Hungary for refusing to supply Kyiv with weapons and not allowing the transfer of arms through Hungarian territory. Zelenskyy’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak said on Friday that Kyiv was “very disappointed” with the NATO summit held earlier this week because it expected the alliance would show more courage and exert additional measures to counter Russia.
In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after recognizing the Ukrainian breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as “independent Republics”. Russia maintains that the aim of its special operation is to “demilitarize and “denazify” Ukraine and that only military infrastructure is being targeted and the civilian population is not in danger.
Moscow has stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the goal is to protect the people of Donbas, “who have been subjected to abuse, genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.”
