Ukraine on Thursday called on the West, on the eve of a crucial meeting, to “significantly” increase its deliveries of weapons, in particular heavy tanks, in order to be able to defeat the Russian army.
Conversely, the Kremlin insisted that the transfer to kyiv of longer-range weapons, capable of striking deep into Russian territory, would lead to an escalation, as the contact group for Ukraine meets on Friday in order to coordinate continued Western military aid.
“We appeal to all partner states that have already provided or plan to provide military assistance, calling on them to significantly increase their contribution,” urged Ukrainian Defense and Foreign Ministers Oleksiy in a joint statement. Reznikov and Dmytro Kouleba.
In particular, they pointed the finger at 12 countries, including Germany and Turkey, calling on them to supply it with the German-made Leopard tanks that kyiv badly needs, but whose deliveries are uncertain due to German procrastination.
Speaking by videoconference on the sidelines of the Davos Economic Forum in Switzerland, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday lectured those who hesitate, taunting those who say “‘I will deliver tanks if someone else does’ “.
“I don’t think this is the right strategy”, he regretted, targeting Berlin which is also the subject of increasing pressure from several European neighbors to authorize deliveries of Leopards .
According to press reports, Berlin will only deliver heavy tanks if the United States does the same with its Abrams. However, Washington is not immediately ready to provide Ukraine with these powerful battle tanks, according to a senior Pentagon official.
” Nothing good “
The Leopards are among the modern, Western-designed heavy tanks that experts say are crucial in the ongoing and upcoming battles in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities have also said they need longer-range missiles to be able to hit the Russian supply chain, including ammunition depots.
But Westerners fear, despite Ukrainian assurances, that kyiv could provoke an escalation of the war by using these weapons to strike deep into Russian territory and the air and naval bases of Crimea, a peninsula annexed in 2014 by Russia.
The Kremlin also sent a clear warning on Thursday: the delivery of longer-range weapons “would mean that the conflict would reach a new level” and that it promised “nothing good for European security”.
Nevertheless, according to New York Timesthe Biden administration is beginning to consider giving Ukraine the wherewithal to attack Crimea, as it is a key rear base for the Russian war effort.
President Zelensky reiterated his desire to take back all the Ukrainian territories under occupation, including the peninsula.
On Friday, defense ministers and senior military officials from Western countries providing military aid to Ukraine will therefore gather around US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Ramstein, Germany to coordinate.
The United Kingdom has already pledged 14 Challenger 2 heavy tanks and Poland says it is ready to send 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks.
But Ukraine needs several hundred of these vehicles to be able to launch offensives in the east and south.
Especially since the Russian forces, supported by the paramilitary group Wagner, have redoubled their efforts to take Bakhmout, a city in the Donetsk region which has been the subject of a bloody battle for months.
Over the past 15 days, Russian fighters have gained some ground, taking a large chunk of the nearby city of Soledar.
Throughout the fall, thanks to Western armaments in particular, Ukraine had inflicted a series of setbacks on the Kremlin forces, retaking the northeast and part of the south of the country.
“Heavier, more modern” weapons
In order to continue its counter-offensives, kyiv needs equipment because “Russia retains a substantial quantitative advantage in terms of troops, weapons and military equipment”, recalled MM. Reznikov and Kouleba.
Wednesday in Davos, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg assured that member countries would provide “heavier and more modern” weapons.
At the same time, the President of the European Council Charles Michel was in kyiv on Thursday to discuss new support measures with Mr. Zelensky.
In Ukraine, the investigation continued the day after a helicopter crash near kyiv which claimed the life of Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky and at least 13 other people.
Asked Thursday about the cause of the accident, Mr. Zelensky refused to “talk about the different hypotheses until the end of the investigations”.
On the humanitarian front, the new president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, is traveling to Moscow on Thursday and Friday to meet with Russian government officials and discuss urgent humanitarian needs and access to prisoners of war. .