Zelenskyj criticizes the willingness of partner countries to help

VOL.AT - Vorarlberg Online Zelenskyj criticizes the willingness of partner countries to help 3 hours • 3 minutes reading time Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyj criticized the willingness of the allied partner countries to provide Kiev with additional air defense systems. In his evening video address on Saturday, he complained about the lack of air defense systems to protect against Russian attacks. "Unfortunately, this week brought Ukraine brutal Russian attacks on Kharkiv, Donetsk, Sumy, Odessa and Zaporizhia," said Zelenskyj. There are drone and missile attacks almost every day. "At every meeting, at every negotiation with partners who have appropriate air defense systems, the focus is always on additional protection for Ukraine against Russian terror," said Zelenskyj. "Here in Europe, on the continent, there are enough other air defense systems that could offer Ukraine really reliable protection. And it is incomprehensible when air defense systems are just standing around, even though each system could save hundreds or even thousands of lives." Several people have been killed and injured in Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent days. Although the Ukrainian air defense intercepted a large number of the drones and missiles, the number of missiles flying in from different directions is overloading the defense capabilities. On Saturday evening, Russia launched new swarms of drones to as yet unknown targets in Ukraine. Related video: "Just end": Zelensky ready for deal to end the war in Ukraine? (glomex) Ukraine says it wants to start preparing for a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and the designated US President Donald Trump. Foreign Minister Andrij Sybiha said this at a press conference with EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell in Kiev. However, Sybiha did not provide any details - neither about a time frame nor the location of a possible meeting. "The dialogue between Trump and Zelenskyj has already been established," he said, referring to the recent telephone conversation between the two politicians a few days ago. "We are open to further cooperation." Trump and Zelenskyj last met in New York at the end of September on the sidelines of the Ukrainian president's trip to the USA. Zelenskyj presented Trump with the Ukrainian peace plan, which at its core envisages "peace through strength," Sybiha recalled. Central points of this plan include further Western arms deliveries to Kyiv and a timely invitation to join NATO. Trump's election victory has global consequences, Sybiha emphasized. Ukraine hopes this will give it a chance to speed up the path to a just peace. After Trump moves into the White House on January 20, Kyiv must fear that military support from the USA could drastically decrease or even be stopped. Since the war began in February 2022, the USA has been Ukraine's most important ally in the fight against the Russian invasion with its arms deliveries and financial aid. Meanwhile, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the incumbent US government of President Joe Biden is trying to send further military support worth many billions to Ukraine before the change in the White House in January. Biden wants to give Ukraine a stronger negotiating position and strengthen the defense lines in the east of the country. Among other things, Kyiv will receive 500 missiles for the Patriot and Nasams air defense systems in the next few weeks. The Ukrainian armed forces, in turn, demanded additional missiles for the Atacms artillery system, which have a range of up to 250 kilometers. In a conversation with the WSJ, US military officials pointed out that this support for Kyiv would noticeably empty its own arsenals. The US government is therefore asking its allies to supply weapons from their warehouses to Ukraine. Zelensky announced the expansion of drone production in the domestic defense industry. "Drones of different types, for different tasks that not only help the front line, but also hit Russia at ever greater depths. We will expand this," he said. Army Chief Olexander Syrsky had previously referred to the successes of the Ukrainian drone force. "In October, more than 52,000 enemy targets were destroyed and damaged by combat missions by drones," Syrsky wrote on Facebook. Among other things, 129 artillery systems of the Russian armed forces and 221 radio systems were destroyed, and around 4,000 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded. Syrsky's information could not be independently verified. "The technology of unmanned systems is developing rapidly, and we must be one step ahead of the enemy," Syrsky concluded.