Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy outlined his nation’s most serious military needs in an address to NATO leaders in Germany on Oct. 11, and called on world leaders to help expel Russian forces from Ukraine’s “native land.”
Mr. Zelenskyy said Ukraine is most in need of three key capabilities: air defense systems to defend infrastructure, long-range missiles to defend grain supply lines, and artillery munitions to take the war to the enemy.
He said that Russia is likely to increase its attacks on civilians during the winter, as it did last year, and that Ukraine would need support for vital infrastructure.
“We also have to think of how to live during the war,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.
He compared the occupying Russian forces in Ukraine to Hamas, the terror group that over the recent weekend launched a brutal attack focused on Israeli civilians, saying the two share an “essence.”
“Terrorists like Putin or like Hamas seek to hold free and democratic nations as hostages, and they want power over those who seek freedom,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.
“The terrorists will not change. They must lose. And that means we must win.”
US Leads Allies in New Round of Aid
Mr. Zelenskyy then met with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and other members of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an international coalition that coordinates Ukraine aid.
Mr. Austin announced that the United States would deliver a new security package to Ukraine worth $200 million.
The package will include Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, air defense systems, ammunition for artillery and rocket systems, anti-drone and anti-tank systems, and precision munitions.
“We’re here to deliver what it takes, for as long as it takes, so that Ukraine can live in freedom,” Mr. Austin said.
He also announced that the group would organize “capability coalitions,” groups of allies dedicated to coordinating contributions to Ukraine in specific domains such as tanks or fighter jet training.
Such assistance would help Ukraine to extend its grinding counteroffensive further into occupied territory and liberate its homeland, Mr. Austin said.
“Ukraine is making steady progress forward, and it continues to liberate key terrain from the dug-in Russian invaders,” he said.
“This is a hard and dangerous fight.”
Mr. Austin agreed with Mr. Zelenskyy that Russia would likely focus on targeting civilians as the harsh winter sets in.
It’s a grim reality, Mr. Austin said, that betrays Moscow’s failure to achieve military victory in Ukraine.
“By turning civilians into targets, Putin hopes to break the spirit of the Ukrainian people and plunge them into bitter cold and darkness,” he said.
“But he will fail. And we all know it.”
