Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday urged NATO leaders to provide “1 percent of all your planes” and “1 percent of all your tanks” amid the conflict with Russia.
“We can’t just buy those,” Zelenskyy told the NATO leaders, who are meeting in Brussels. “When we will have all this, it will give us, just like you, 100 percent security.”
Ukrainian forces also need anti-ship weapons, air defense systems, and multiple-launch rocket weapons, he said. Ukraine’s military on Thursday claimed it destroyed a large Russian warship at a Black Sea port earlier this week.
Zelenskyy, however, did not reiterate a request for a no-fly zone or ask to join NATO or the European Union during his address. Previously, NATO and U.S. officials denied his request, saying it would further escalate the conflict with Russia into a wider war.
A spokesperson for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday rejected a request that Turkey, a member of NATO, transfer its S-400 missile systems to Ukraine in exchange for U.S.-made F-35 planes and Patriot missile systems.
President Joe Biden and other leaders spent Thursday coming up with their next steps to counter Russia’s month-old invasion and considering how they might respond should Moscow use chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons.
Zelenskyy also claimed Russia used phosphorus-based weapons on Thursday morning, killing adults and children. Phosphorus weapons are not classified as chemical weapons under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
“It feels like we’re in a gray area, between the West and Russia, defending our common values,” Zelenskyy added. “This is the scariest thing during a war ... not to have clear answers to requests for help.”
Since the start of the Feb. 24 invasion, Western powers have sent anti-air missiles, anti-tank missiles, rifles, ammunition, and other equipment to Ukraine. There have also been reports that the United States and NATO shared intelligence with Ukraine’s military.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday also noted in a statement that his military alliance NATO has provided training to Ukraine’s military since 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea.
Biden said more aid was on its way. But Western leaders also suggested they were treading carefully so as not to further escalate the conflict beyond the borders of Ukraine.
“NATO has made a choice to support Ukraine in this war without going to war with Russia,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. “Therefore we have decided to intensify our ongoing work to prevent any escalation and to get organized in case there is an escalation.”
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