World can’t wait for US elections to take action to ward off Putin: Zelenskyy
Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Photo: Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the world should not wait until November to roll back Russia’s offensive against his country.
Zelenskyy made the comments during his attendance at this week’s NATO summit in Washington.
He said the world was waiting to see what would happen in November, when voters are expected to choose between incumbent President Joe Biden and Republican opponent Donald Trump. But he said action needed to be taken before then to defeat Russian President Vladimir Putin in his war on Ukraine.
Zelensky has proven himself an adept navigator of international relations in defense of his war-torn country, publicly pleading and sometimes loudly complaining for the military support the country needs to defend itself against the Russian invasion.
But as he attends the NATO summit, his most coveted prize — membership in the military alliance — remains elusive. The European and North American nations that make up NATO are in no hurry to admit Ukraine, especially now that the country is embroiled in active hostilities with Russia that could drag them into a wider war.
Zelenskyy, who was feted in Washington as a champion of democracy after the 2022 Russian invasion but was forced to plead his case for help to US lawmakers last year, will once again be a bridesmaid in the US capital.
He will try to navigate the tumultuous US political landscape at the NATO summit, while President Joe Biden tries to show how strong he is on the world stage and how well he can continue to lead the alliance’s most important member, after a difficult debate with former President Donald Trump.
Trump, a NATO skeptic, has criticized allies for missing defense spending targets and raised concerns in Europe about continued U.S. support for NATO and Ukraine. His Republican supporters in Congress were responsible for a months-long delay in U.S. military aid, allowing Russia to gain ground on Ukraine’s exhausted forces.
The stakes have never been higher for Zelenskyy as he prepared to address a Reagan Institute audience that included some of the most senior Republicans in Congress. He arrived in Washington on Tuesday, a day after Russia launched its heaviest bombing raid on Kiev in nearly four months and one of the deadliest of the war, destroying a wing of Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital.
Against that backdrop, Zelenskyy, who will meet Biden separately on Thursday, made another urgent appeal for additional air defense systems shortly after arriving in Washington. On the social media platform X, he wrote the following: “We are fighting for more air defense systems for Ukraine and I am confident that we will succeed.”
Hours before Zelensky’s speech on Tuesday night, Biden announced with much fanfare that the US and other NATO members will send dozens of air defense systems to Ukraine in the coming months, including at least four of the powerful Patriot systems the country desperately needs to fend off Russian advances in the war.
At a meeting to mark the alliance’s 75th anniversary, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged the West to continue sending arms and ammunition to Ukraine no matter the cost, saying the outcome of the war with Russia “will determine global security for decades to come.”
But an invitation to join the alliance is not expected, even though the latest Russian attacks have increased support for his country.
“We would like to see our partners be more determined and respond decisively to these attacks,” Zelenskyy said in Poland on Monday before flying to the US.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met with Ukraine’s foreign minister on Tuesday, said the summit would further strengthen Ukraine’s ties with NATO and “its path to membership.” He noted the “despicable” Russian attack on the children’s hospital.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the hospital strike “broadly determines the agenda for today’s meeting.”
In the coming days, Zelensky will hear a raft of messages of support from countries that have supplied his country with weapons, despite recent, damaging US and European delays in approving further aid.
“It is critical that the world continues to stand with Ukraine at this critical moment and that we do not ignore Russian aggression,” Biden said in a statement Monday night. He said U.S. support for Ukraine is “unwavering.”
“Together with our allies, we will announce new measures to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses to protect its cities and citizens from Russian attacks,” Biden said. “The United States stands with the people of Ukraine.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose country is the second richest in NATO, also expressed solidarity with Ukraine. “Germany stands steadfastly with Ukrainians, especially in these difficult times,” he said.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said last week that the U.S. would announce an additional $2.3 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons, interceptor missiles and ammunition for Patriot and other air defense systems.
In a small first step at the start of the summit on Tuesday, Blinken said NATO allies would provide more than $7 million for personal protective equipment, uniforms and boots specifically for female Ukrainian soldiers.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been edited by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: Jul 10, 2024 | 07:22 AM IST