Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday thanked allies for their support, which in the past two days have provided him with substantial new aid and a path to NATO membership, but insisted that help must come more quickly and that restrictions on the use of U.S. weapons to attack military targets inside Russia must be lifted.
“If we want to win, if we want to prevail, if we want to save our country and defend it, we have to lift all restrictions,” Zelensky said as he appeared alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the final hours of a summit at which Ukraine received new commitments of military aid to strengthen its defense against Russia.
Earlier in the day, President Joe Biden reaffirmed his support for Ukraine, announcing a new military aid package and promising Zelensky: “We will be with you, period.”
While Zelensky publicly welcomed the package — and NATO leaders’ pledge that Ukraine is now on an “irreversible path” toward membership — he also sounded an alarm: that Ukraine cannot win the war with Russia, now in its third year, unless the United States lifts limits on the use of its weapons to attack military targets in Russia.
Currently, the Biden administration is allowing Ukraine to fire weapons into Russian territory only for the purpose of striking back at Russian forces attacking or preparing to attack them, with the possibility that broader use of U.S.-made weaponry could provoke Russia to expand the war. But Zelensky has been pushing for greater latitude so that U.S. weapons could be used to hit critical military bases and facilities deeper in Russian territory.
Stoltenberg, for his part, supported Ukraine’s request to be allowed to attack more military targets inside Russia, saying it was Ukraine’s right to self-defense. He noted that the war had changed since the early days, when fighting was deeper into Ukrainian territory.
“Since Russia has opened a new front… the only way to attack military targets, military launchers or airfields attacking Ukraine is to attack military targets on Russian territory,” he said.
The summit has been overshadowed by concerns about growing Chinese and North Korean support for the Russian invasion. It has also unfolded during a tumultuous US political cycle, with growing angst among Democrats over Biden’s ability to serve another four years.
Later, all eyes will be on Biden when he closes the summit of leaders of 32 NATO member countries in Washington with a press conference. It will be a new opportunity to demonstrate to the American public that he is capable of serving another four years, after his resounding failure in the debate put the future of his presidency in doubt.
Joined by Zelensky at an early-morning event, Biden announced that the package is his eighth since he took office, with the latest consisting of $225 million in aid, including a new Patriot missile system to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses against a deadly onslaught of Russian airstrikes.
The Patriot air defense system, the second the U.S. has supplied to Ukraine, is one of several Biden announced this week at the NATO summit and is part of a wave of pledges to supply Ukraine with weapons to help it defend itself against Russian attacks, including one this week that hit a children’s hospital in kyiv.
The latest developments at the NATO summit come a day after the military alliance said China was acting as a “decisive facilitator” in Russia’s war against Ukraine. China, in turn, accused NATO of seeking security at the expense of others and has warned the military alliance not to bring the same “chaos” to Asia.
“We appreciate the close partnership with your country, and not just because our security is not regional, it is global,” Stoltenberg said as he welcomed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on the final day of the alliance’s summit in Washington.
“This is clearly illustrated by the war in Ukraine,” Stoltenberg added.
Stoltenberg called NATO leaders together at the military alliance’s top decision-making body, saying they would address “shared security challenges, including Russia’s war on Ukraine, China’s support for Russia’s war economy and the growing alignment of authoritarian powers.” He said the allies must work ever more closely together to preserve peace.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who is also taking part in the talks, said it was important to draw all partners into a conversation on how to ensure stability, especially as China strengthens its ties with Russia but also in the Asia-Pacific region.
“China is supporting Russia in the name of this boundless friendship. (North) Korea is one of the most important suppliers of raw materials for Russia,” he told reporters. He noted that maritime border tensions “in the Indo-Pacific pose a threat to the stability of the entire region.”
Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea are participating in the summit in a special capacity.
Zelensky will later join allied leaders at a NATO-Ukraine Council, a forum created a year ago for the 32 allies and kyiv to meet on an equal footing to share concerns and information.
On Wednesday, NATO leaders promised Ukraine it is on an “irreversible path” toward membership, though it will only be able to join sometime after the war, when allies agree it has met all the conditions.
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2024-07-13 04:13:05