BRUSSELS (Dispatches) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will ask a summit of European Union leaders on Thursday for more arms and powering ahead with Kyiv’s bid to join the EU, a senior Ukrainian official said on Wednesday.
Zelenskiy visited Britain on Wednesday, winning a pledge to train Ukrainian pilots on advanced NATO fighter jets, and was expected in the European Union hub Brussels on Thursday for talks among the 27 national leaders of the bloc.
“My president travels to get results,” said the Ukrainian official. “He is on a foreign trip today. First and foremost, the main result is - weapons ... We need the support of the European Council to speed up arms deliveries to Ukraine.”
The official, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said Kyiv needed long-range artillery and multiple types of ammunition, as well as battle tanks and fighter jets.
“We badly need as of now, as of yesterday, long-range artillery, all types of artillery ammunition. Ammunition, ammunition, ammunition, we use plenty of ammunition every day.”
“Battle tanks – the decision has been taken by several member states, but we have no tanks for now. This needs to be speeded up. We need fighter jets,” said the official.
The 27 EU leaders meet for what is called a European Council summit on Thursday to discuss more sanctions against Russia, and how to use Russian assets frozen under existing sanctions to finance rebuilding Ukraine.
Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands announced Tuesday that they plan to provide Ukraine with at least 100 refurbished Leopard 1 battle tanks in the coming months.
The announcement followed Germany agreeing last month to allow deliveries of the more modern German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
In a joint statement, the defense ministers of Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands said the shipment of the older Leopard 1 tanks was part of an effort “to support Ukraine.”
“(It) will significantly enhance Ukraine’s military potential for the restoration of their violated territorial integrity,” they said, adding that the delivery would occur “within the coming months” and include logistical support and training.
Germany last month agreed to send 14 newer Leopard 2 A6 tanks from its military’s current stocks. The country’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that the first Leopard 2s could arrive in Ukraine by the end of March. The first Ukrainian soldiers to be trained on the tanks departed for Germany this week.