March 3, 2024
Zelensky insists on rapid arms delivery after Odessa attack
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the West to supply Kiev with missile defense systems and weapons in his late-night video address.
His address came after Russian drone strikes killed several people in an apartment building in Ukraine's southern port city of Odesa.
“Such attacks by Shaheed drones have no military sense, they cannot have any,” he said. “This is terrorism that only aims to intimidate people.”
“The world knows that terrorism can be countered. The world has enough missile defense systems, systems to protect against Shaheed drones and missiles,” he added.
“Delaying the delivery of weapons to Ukraine, missile defense systems to protect our people, unfortunately leads to such losses, the list of children who take the lives of Russia continues to grow.”
“Ukraine is asking for nothing more than what is necessary to protect lives,” he said. “When lives are lost, when partners play internal political games or disputes that limit our security, it is unfathomable. It is unacceptable. It cannot be forgotten – the world will remember it.”
Zelensky's comments come as a comprehensive U.S. aid package for Ukraine stalls in the U.S. House of Representatives.
sdi/wd (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)