Twelve countries are targeted, including Germany and Turkey, which have Leopard tanks that Kyiv tirelessly demands. This Thursday, Ukraine called on its western allies to “significantly step up” their arms supplies against the Russian army.
“We appeal to all partner countries that have already provided or plan to provide military assistance and urge them to significantly increase their contribution,” Ukrainian Defense and Foreign Ministers Oleksiy Reznikov and Dmytro Kouleba said in a joint statement.
The two ministers urged the dozen countries, including Turkey – which is mediating in the conflict – and Germany – which Ukrainians say has been slow to respond to Kiev’s requests – to provide Leopard 2 tanks as soon as possible, “for the most pressing and urgent needs”. the Ukrainian army.
True leadership is about leading by example, not looking up to others. There are no taboos. From Washington to London, from Paris to Warsaw, they say: 🇺🇦 needs tanks; Tanks – the key to ending the war properly. Time to stop trembling in front of Putin and to take the last step.
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) January 19, 2023
In the afternoon, the Ukrainian presidency reiterated this call and called on its western allies to provide tanks. “There are no taboos. From Washington to London, from Paris to Warsaw, the message is: Ukraine needs tanks; this is the key to ending the war,” Zelenskyi’s adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said on Twitter. “It’s time to stop trembling at Putin and take the final step,” he said.
A crucial meeting
The call comes on the eve of a key meeting of Ukraine’s Contact Group in Ramstein, Germany, to coordinate continued aid to Kyiv as the Russian military throws its forces into the Battle of Bakhmout (east). International military aid must therefore be “raised to a new level in terms of quality,” demanded Oleksiï Reznikov and Dmytro Kouleba.
But on Thursday the UK pledged to supply Ukraine with 600 additional Brimstone missiles, Denmark to give it its 19 French-made Caesar guns and Sweden to supply Archer self-propelled guns. Systems, all of which have a range of tens of kilometers, but less than claimed by the Ukrainians.
London had already pledged 14 Challenger 2 heavy tanks to Kyiv, and Poland says it is willing to send it 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks, far fewer in total than the hundreds of such vehicles Ukraine will need for future offensives .
At this stage, “Russia retains a significant quantitative advantage in terms of troops, weapons and military equipment”, Oleksiï Reznikov and Dmytro Kouleba lamented, despite already very significant financial and military aid from the West. “We call on all these countries and other countries with the appropriate capabilities to join the initiative to create an international armored coalition in support of Ukraine,” the two ministers demanded on Thursday.
They also pledged to “guarantee” that Ukraine “will use these weapons responsibly and solely for the purpose of protecting Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.”
Oleksiï Reznikov and Dmytro Kouleba also “welcomed” the “bold and welcome decision of the UK” announced last Saturday to “deploy the first squadron of Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine”.
Moscow’s warning
“However, this is not enough to achieve operational goals,” they plead in their joint statement. “The Kremlin is determined to further intensify hostilities” and “has not changed its objectives towards Ukraine, which is to destroy it,” they warned.
“We hear your message. They need more air defense and artillery systems, more ammunition,” Charles Michel said on Twitter after a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The President of the European Council visited Kyiv on Thursday. He claimed that tanks needed to be delivered to the Ukrainians because “the next few weeks could be crucial” at the front.
During a joint press conference, he also confirmed talks between EU member states on a tenth round of sanctions against Russia. At the same time, the head of European Union diplomacy, Josep Borrell, considered the reference to the Holocaust made by Moscow to denounce Western countries’ support for Ukraine “unacceptable and despicable”.
For its part, the Kremlin has warned that the supply by the West to Ukraine of long-range weapons capable of striking Russian territory in depth would lead to a dangerous intensification of the armed conflict between Kyiv and Moscow. “It is potentially very dangerous, it would mean that the conflict would reach a new level that would not bode well for European security,” said Russian Presidency spokesman Dmitry Peskov.