Zelenski asks for 10 more Patriot systems
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski asked Ukraine’s allies on Friday in the War with Russia, gathered in Brussels at a new meeting of the defense ministers, ten additional Patriot anti-aircraft systems and the rushing of an international troops contingent to be held in Ukraine as a guarantee to Russia.
‘I ask you to focus primarily on Ukraine’s aerial defense. We really need it. Ten additional patriot systems, Zelenski said in a message transmitted by video link to the contact group meeting for Ukraine, also known as the Ramstein group, held on Friday at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Zelenski sent this message from his native city of Krivoi Rog, where last Friday a Russian rocket iskander killed, according to the Ukrainian authorities, 19 people, of which nine children, in an attack that, according to Russia, targeted a restaurant where a meeting between the Ukrainian army and the Western military instructors was held, and who, Ukrainian military and foreign officers.
Zelenski also asked his allies to speed up an international troop contingent to be held in Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement with Russia. « We must define clear details on the size, structure, development, logistics, support, equipment and armament of this security contingent in Ukraine, » said the Ukrainian president on the meant initiative gives Ukraine a form of security guarantee, as an alternative to NATO accession that is excluded by US President Donald Trump.
While British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are advancing in this initiative and have already formed a coalition of ‘voluntary’ countries to participate in such force or other contributions, Moscow describes this ‘totally unacceptable’ and warned that it will be in this force. Russia.
The meeting of the Ramstein group, which was attended by about 40 countries on Friday supporting Ukraine in war with Russia, was jointly led by the ministers of British and German defense, John Healey and Boris Pistorius, after the United States refused to lead the meetings of this format. The American Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, did not physically participate in this meeting and just sent a video link.
The British Minister of Defense said that Ukraine received this meeting of new military aids that total about 21 billion euros. But most of them are not new, as they were already known or have been announced before and now they were only reconfirmed.
For his part, the German Minister of Defense, whose country promised Ukraine new military aid of about 11 billion euros by 2029, mentioned that Germany cannot offer Ukraine new Patriot anti-aircraft, as it itself is waiting for such systems by the American manufacturer, but it will deliver four extra systems to it. batteries.
Trump promised Zelenski last month that he would help him get new Patriot American anti-aircraft systems, respectively ‘to collaborate with him to see what is available, especially in Europe’, in countries that have such systems.
Among the themes that Zelenski also approached in the speech addressed to the ministers gathered in Brussels and the capture of the first two prisoners of Chinese war that fought alongside Russian troops.
‘We currently have information about at least several hundred Chinese citizens’ fighting in the Russian army, Zelenski said, claiming that Russia is trying to prolong the war using the ‘Chinese lives’.
Previously, after the capture of the two Chinese fighters, Zelenski accused China of being « attracted » in the war, statements considered ‘irresponsible’ by Beijing, who said that he has no conflict involvement and that these cases of Chinese combatants among the Russian army are individual situations.
