Ukraine war: Kyiv’s allies pledge more weapons to help win waron April 19, 2022 at 6:50 pm

Ukraine’s allies have pledged to send more weapons to help it defend against a renewed Russian offensive.

The US and other allies vowed to send artillery, anti-tank and air defence aid to Kyiv, during a 90-minute video call on Tuesday.

Ukraine says it needs the weapons to help defend itself as Russia launches a new campaign in the country’s east.

Clashes there have marked what Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky said was the start of the “battle for the Donbas”.

“This will become an artillery conflict,” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in parliament after the meeting with other leaders.

“They [Ukraine] need support with more artillery, that is what we will be giving them.”

Speaking to reporters in New Hampshire, US president Joe Biden confirmed that Washington would also be sending Ukraine more artillery – heavy guns deployed in land warfare.

In Berlin, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany was providing finance to enable Ukraine to buy anti-tank weapons and ammunition from German arms manufacturers.

“The aim is to strengthen the Ukrainian military such that it can push back the Russian attack,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Czech Republic said it would repair Ukrainian tanks and armoured vehicles when they are damaged in combat.

The pledges follow a renewed call from Ukraine’s president Volodomyr Zelensky for the country’s allies to increase their weapons supplies to Kyiv.

“We need heavy artillery, armed vehicles, air defence systems and combat aircraft — anything to repel Russian forces and stop their war crimes.” Mr Zelensky said on Twitter last week. “Nobody will stop Russia except Ukraine with heavy weapons”.

Earlier this week the first shipments of a fresh $800 million US military aid package arrived at the Ukrainian border – aid which Russia fiercely opposes.

“The United States and Western states under its control are doing everything to drag out the military operation for as long as possible,” Russia’s defence chief Sergei Shoigu said.

Others on Tuesday’s virtual meeting included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as well as the leaders of Italy, Japan and Poland.

The leaders also discussed how to provide security guarantees to Ukraine after the war even if it is not a member of Nato, a French presidential advisor said.

Nato is a military alliance whose 30 members – including the US, UK and Germany – have agreed to come to one another’s aid in the event of an armed attack against any one of them.

Because Ukraine is not a Nato member, the alliance isn’t obliged to come to its defence.

Its members fear that involving themselves in direct armed confrontation could lead to an all-out conflict between Russia and the West.

Instead, Nato members have supplied Ukraine with millions of dollars worth of military aid since Russia launched the invasion.