BRUSSELS — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused NATO of misjudging his country’s ability to withstand Russian aggression and implored the trans-Atlantic alliance to provide his country with heavy arms.
The Ukrainian president urged world leaders in a virtual address to provide his country with aircraft and tanks as it fights off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, admonishing attendees at an emergency NATO summit in Brussels Thursday for rebuffing his requests for tanks and planes.
“Please never tell us again that our military is not meeting NATO standards,” Zelensky said. “We have shown what our standards are capable of. We have shown what we can do for the common security of Europe and the world.”
Zelensky did not ask NATO members to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine or for NATO membership, according to a senior U.S. official.
UKRAINE HOPES BIDEN AND NATO CAN GO BEYOND SYMBOLISM IN SUMMIT ON RUSSIA’S WAR
The Ukrainian leader said in remarks earlier this week that the response on Thursday would show “who is a friend, who is a partner, and who betrayed us for money.”
He has asked world leaders to take “meaningful steps” to strengthen Ukraine’s military campaign against its neighbor to the east, pleading that “freedom must be armed.”
“The Ukrainian sky has not been made safe from Russian missiles and bombs,” Zelensky said in advance of the summit. “We have not received aircraft and modern anti-missile weapons. We have not received tanks, anti-ship equipment.”
The United States previously shut down a Polish plan to supply Ukraine with fighter jets, fearing that Russia could view its involvement as a direct confrontation. President Joe Biden has held firm on limiting U.S. exposure in the conflict and said repeatedly that U.S. troops will not fight in Ukraine, though he has released other forms of aid.
Biden briefly huddled with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson upon arriving at NATO headquarters on Thursday for a string of meetings to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine, the first in-person convening of the trans-Atlantic military alliance since Russian forces began rolling toward Kyiv more than three weeks ago.
During the NATO “family photo,” Biden shook hands and said a few words to Johnson, Macron, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, a White House official said. The U.S. president ignored shouted questions from reporters as he walked into the meeting with Macron, greeting leaders in the room before NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg declared the member states’ unanimity for Ukraine and against Russia.
“We are determined to continue to impose costs on Russia to bring about the end of this brutal war,” Stoltenberg said.
The Biden administration expected the summit to cover ways to bolster the alliance’s eastern flank and provide additional military aid for Ukraine, Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said ahead of the meeting.
BIDEN AIMS TO RALLY SUPPORT FOR FRONT-LINE NATO STATES IN SERIES OF HIGH-STAKES SUMMITS
Stoltenberg indicated on Wednesday that this could cover a broad range of support.
“I expect allies will agree to provide additional support, including cybersecurity assistance, as well as equipment to help Ukraine protect against chemical, biological, and radiological and nuclear threats,” Stoltenberg said.
Biden will also meet with leaders from the European Union and Group of Seven leading economies, including Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The invasion has prompted a significant overhaul inside the alliance, driving nations to step up their military spending after years of neglect and forcing major economic powers to sever economic ties with Moscow. World powers levied massive coordinated sanctions against Russia in the wake of the invasion, the most extensive slate ever imposed on a major economy.
Sullivan, who arrived with Biden at NATO headquarters on Thursday, told reporters earlier that the leaders would discuss the economic blowback of the sanctions regime and detail further measures to crack down on efforts to evade Western penalties. The White House hopes to devastate Russia’s economy through several proposals, including those aimed at reducing European reliance on Russian gas,
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Millions of Ukrainians have fled their homes, while many more are trapped under shelling by Moscow. For weeks, the country has stalled Russia’s military assault, mounting a war effort nearly overnight. But Russia stepped up the bombing campaign as it met strategic setbacks. Biden has warned that Putin may soon turn to chemical weapons as he finds his invasion slowed.
Biden intends to host European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a bilateral meeting in Brussels on Friday before heading to Poland later in the day, a White House official confirmed Thursday.
