Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register LVIV, Ukraine, March 26 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, visibly upset, on Saturday called on Western nations to provide a fraction of their military equipment in their stacks and asked if they feared Moscow. Several countries have promised to send anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles as well as small arms, but Zelensky said Kyiv needs tanks, planes and anti-aircraft systems. “This is what our partners have, this is exactly what is gathering dust there. All this is not only for the freedom of Ukraine, but for the freedom of Europe,” he said in a video speech late last night. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Ukraine needed only 1% of NATO aircraft and 1% of its tanks and would not ask for more, he said. “We have been waiting for 31 days. Who is responsible for the Euro-Atlantic community? Is Moscow really still intimidated?” he said. Zelensky has repeatedly insisted that Russia seek to expand further into Europe if Ukraine falls. However, NATO does not support its request for a no-fly zone over Ukraine on the grounds that it could provoke a wider war. Earlier in the day, Zelensky spoke with his Polish counterpart, Andrei Duda, and expressed disappointment that Russian-made fighter jets in Eastern Europe had not yet been transported to Ukraine, Zelensky’s office said in a statement. “The price of procrastination with planes is the lives of thousands of Ukrainians,” the office said. Zelensky said Poland and the United States have both stated their readiness to make a decision on the planes. Earlier this month, Washington rejected a surprise proposal by Poland to transport MiG-29 fighter jets to a US base in Germany to be used to replenish Ukrainian air force. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Oleksandr Kozhukhar and David Ljunggren, written by David Ljunggren Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
