Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged international allies on Friday to speed up deliveries of promised air defenses, warning of a “significant” shortfall in vital aid.
Speaking at Ramstein Air Base in Germany at the opening of the 24th Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting, Zelensky said the weapons systems were essential to hold back Russian forces.
“I will not speak openly now about the number of systems they have received — thank you so much again — but the number of air defense systems that have not yet been delivered is significant.
“This is what was agreed upon, and this is what has not been fully implemented. The world has enough air defense systems to ensure that Russian terror does not have results, and I urge you to be more active in this war with us in air defense,” Zelensky said.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking alongside Zelensky said the Biden administration would announce another $250 million security assistance package for Ukraine. Since the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in June, he said, the US has committed more than $4 billion in new security assistance for Kyiv.
Among the capabilities expected to be included in the aid package are 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons, and spare equipment parts, according to a defense official.
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Austin said Zelensky and the Ukrainian people had “inspired the world.”
Friday’s meeting comes amid an increased push by Ukrainian leaders for the loosening of restrictions to use long-range weapons inside Russia. A week ago, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov presented a list of targets inside Russia to the Biden administration during a visit to Washington. Days later, Russia launched one of the deadliest single attacks since the beginning of the war, killing dozens of people and injuring more than 200 more in a strike on a military educational facility in central Ukraine.
Austin noted that Kyiv was continuing to “seize the initiative on the battlefield,” a clear reference to Ukraine’s ongoing offensive in Russia’s Kursk region.
“The Kremlin’s army of aggression is now on the defensive on its own turf,” Austin said.
“But we know that Putin’s malice runs deep. Moscow continues its offensive in the east of Ukraine, especially around Pokrovsk. And Putin is repositioning his troops in Kursk. And the Kremlin continues to bombard Ukraine’s cities and to target Ukraine’s cities and to target Ukraine civilians.
“That’s an outrage. But Ukraine refuses to bend,” he said.
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