WDuring a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU Council President Charles Michel called for continued maximum support for Ukraine. “We know that the coming weeks and months will be of crucial importance,” said Michel on Thursday in Brussels. “We have to keep our eyes open, we must continue to provide the maximum level of support.” Zelenskyi told the EU exactly what is currently needed: “Artillery, ammunition, defense systems…”
In the debate about supporting Kiev with combat aircraft, several EU countries have apparently agreed to make deliveries. “I heard from a number of European leaders that they are ready to give us the necessary weapons and support, including planes,” Zelenskyy said during the press conference. He will now hold a series of bilateral talks. “We will discuss the issue of fighter jets and other aircraft.” Earlier, the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, had already written to Telegram that the issue of supplying fighter jets and long-range weapons had been resolved. Details would be provided later.
“We have to be faster than the attacker”
Selenskyj had previously called on the European heads of state and government at the EU summit to supply combat aircraft and other weapons. Ukraine “really needs ammunition, modern tanks, long-range missiles and fighter jets,” he said. “We have to be faster than the attacker.”
EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola also underlined the importance of combat aircraft for Ukraine. “Now, as a next step, the states must consider quickly providing long-range systems and aircraft,” she said on Thursday morning in the European Parliament in Brussels, where Zelenskyj had given a speech before his meeting with the EU heads of state and government.
These are needed, Metsola said, to protect freedoms that too many have taken for granted. On the occasion of Zelenskyj’s visit to the EU Parliament and later to the EU summit in Brussels, she said: “Our reaction must be appropriate to the threat – and the threat is existential.”
At the beginning of her speech, Metsola said that Zelenskyi’s leadership has inspired people in every corner of the world. “When the world thinks of Ukraine, it thinks of heroes who fight against all odds, of David defeating Goliath.” The sacrifices made by Ukraine must be honored with deeds, not just words.
