Zelenskyy appeals to NATO to provide weapons to protect against Russian attack

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the North Atlantic Alliance with a request to provide weapons to protect against Russian attack

According to an EP correspondent, they were addressed by the President at a NATO summit on 24 March.

Zelenskyy reminded Allied leaders that Russia was very militarized.

"Over the decades, Russia has amassed considerable resources. Military resources … equipment, bombs, and missiles. They invested a lot of money in death while the world invested in life," he said.

The President stressed that this was his second appeal for Ukraine.

He first applied to NATO a month ago, on 24 February.

"On February 24, I addressed you with a perfectly clear, logical request. To help close our skies. To protect our people from Russian bombs and missiles. We have not heard a clear answer," the president rebuked the allies.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed the details of Ukraine's request to save Ukrainian cities and their populations from destruction.

"Ukraine needs military assistance, without restrictions. As without restrictions, Russia is using its entire arsenal against us," he explained.

"Ukraine does not have powerful anti-missile weapons, it has much smaller aircraft than Russia … Ukraine turned to you for planes. So that we do not lose so many people. You have thousands of fighter planes! But you did not give us any.

We turned for tanks. So that we can unblock our cities, where Russia is holding hundreds of thousands of people hostage, artificially creating hunger, literally destroying residential neighborhoods in the ashes. You have at least 20,000 tanks!

Ukraine has asked for one percent of all your tanks! Give or sell them to us. But we don't have a clear answer…" Zelenskyy stressed.

Zelenskyy further stressed that he asked NATO to provide Ukraine with one percent of Alliance aircraft, as well as volley fire systems, anti-ship weapons, and air defenses.

The President stressed that Ukraine was grateful to all allies for the military assistance already provided, but it is not enough to effectively stop the Russian offensive.

As reported, the Secretary-General of the Alliance on Thursday confirmed that NATO did not plan to close the skies over Ukraine with Allied forces.

Although there is a NATO decision to supply air defense systems to Ukraine from Slovakia, the completion of this supply is unknown. At the same time, Congress calls on Biden to provide Ukraine with air defense systems and fighters.