Zelenskiy to ask EU summit for more arms and quick accession - Ukrainian official
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Loading... - Biserka Markovic
- 23 Feb 2023
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will ask a summit of European Union leaders on Thursday for more arms to fight Russia and powering ahead with Kyiv’s bid to join the EU, a senior Ukrainian official said on Wednesday.
Zelenskiy visited Britain on Wednesday, winning a pledge to train Ukrainian pilots on advanced NATO fighter jets, and was expected in the European Union hub Brussels on Thursday for talks among the 27 national leaders of the bloc.
“My president travels to get results,” said the Ukrainian official. “He is on a foreign trip today. First and foremost, the main result is – weapons… We need the support of the European Council to speed up arms deliveries to Ukraine.”
The official, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said Kyiv needed long-range artillery and multiple types of ammunition, as well as battle tanks and fighter jets.
Zelenskiy is expected to address the European Parliament on Thursday morning and then join the EU leaders, part of his second foreign trip since Russia invaded a year ago this month.
While he has dialled in to every EU summit since, it would be the first time he had sat in one room with all the national leaders of the bloc since Feb. 24, 2022.
Later on Wednesday, he was due in Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“We badly need as of now, as of yesterday, long-range artillery, all types of artillery ammunition. Ammunition, ammunition, ammunition, we use plenty of ammunition every day,” the Ukrainian official said.
“Battle tanks – the decision has been taken by several member states, but we have no tanks for now. This needs to be speeded up. We need fighter jets,” the official said. Read More…
