Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Western nations on Saturday if they were afraid of Russia after talks on “ping-pong” over arms supplies to Ukraine. US President Joe Biden traveled to Poland last week to talk about international support for Ukraine with world leaders in the midst of war. On Saturday, Biden met with Ukrainian officials to discuss arms procurement assistance, Zelensky said. “So who is leading the Euro-Atlantic community? Is Moscow still intimidated?” said Zelensky in a midnight speech. He said he was grateful for the Ukrainian forces defending the besieged city of Mariupol and urged Western partners who are considering supplying Ukraine with planes and tanks to have at least “a percentage of their courage”. Zelensky said in his speech that “ping-pong” discussions about which country should supply fighter jets and other weapons to Ukraine are still ongoing. “Ukraine can not shoot down Russian missiles using shotguns, machine guns,” Zelensky said, adding that the country has plenty of supplies. The US and the EU know that it is “impossible” to liberate Mariupol in southern Ukraine without a sufficient number of tanks and aircraft, Zelensky said. “It is impossible to unblock Mariupol without a sufficient number of tanks, other armored vehicles and, of course, aircraft. All the defenders of Ukraine know this. All the defenders of Mariupol know this. Thousands of people know it – citizens, citizens there on the block. “This needs to be made known as soon as possible to as many people on earth as possible, so that everyone understands who and why was just afraid to prevent this tragedy. He was just afraid to make a decision,” Zelensky said. His remarks came after several rockets hit the town of Lviv in western Ukraine on Saturday – just 45 miles from Poland – during Biden’s visit to Warsaw. “In the name of God, this man can not stay in power,” Biden said of Putin at the end of a speech at Warsaw Royal Castle. Since then, the White House has denied the allegations, saying Biden’s statements did not call for a change of regime in Russia.
