New Ukrainian Defense Minister Roustem Oumerov has called on the West to provide Ukraine with “heavier weapons” as a counteroffensive against the Russian army begins.
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“We are grateful for any support, but we need more heavy weapons.” Heavy weapons. And heavy weapons again,” Oumerov said on Friday at an international conference in Kiev, where there is an embargo until Saturday. “We need it today. We need it now,” he added.
“Ukrainian warriors today are sacrificing their lives for the basic values of democracy and freedom. They need support from you, dear partners. And this support is a weapon,” the minister said two days after his appointment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged at the same conference on Friday that Russia was slowing Ukraine’s counteroffensive, blaming “slow” Western arms shipments while calling for long-range weapons and new sanctions against Moscow.
The Ukrainian counteroffensive launched in June encountered powerful defenses constructed by the Russians, including minefields and anti-tank barriers.
However, in recent weeks there has been a breakthrough in the south that could allow the Ukrainian army to advance and cut Russian lines of communication between the north and Crimea, one of its objectives.