Dylan Bettencourt
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country would ask the United States for heavy weapons to help defeat Russia.
The US secretary of state Antony J. Blinken and defence secretary Lloyd Austin were scheduled to make what Zelensky termed a “very significant” visit to Ukraine’s capital Kyiv on Sunday.
The Ukrainian president said that the US and the United Kingdom had provided his nation with the “best military support” since Russia’s invasion two months ago.
He added that he would draft a list of weapons that he required and would send it to US President Joe Biden on Sunday.
While praising several European leaders who made the trip to the war-torn country, he had hoped that President Biden would also come to Ukraine.
Ukraine did not need “tragic selfies,” he said, but would instead request planes and tanks.
Russia claimed its invasion of Ukraine was implemented to “denazify” Ukraine. Zelensky, who is Jewish, said that was hypocritical, comparing the operation to German fascists who conquered Europe 80 years ago.
“These are Russian Nazis. They will forever be inscribed in the history books as barbarians,” he said.
Ukraine has proved a tough force in their battles with Russia. Their defence has been supported by several allies, including the US, which has pledged $800-million (R12.5-billion) in weapons to Ukraine.
President Biden said that he would ask the US Congress for more money to donate and send further artillery, 144,000 rounds of ammunition and tactical drones in the coming days.
“We’re in a critical window now of time where they’re going to set the stage for the next phase of this war,” Biden said.
He said that the US and its allies were moving as quickly as they could to provide Ukraine with the equipment they needed to overcome the Russian attack.
On the two-month anniversary of the invasion, the civilian death toll in Ukraine was tallied at 2,345, a figure expected to be undercounted and said to rise.
Image source: @TheNewYorkTimes
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