(Kyiv) Faced with a Russian army which is accumulating missiles for winter attacks, Ukraine is seeing, because of the war between Israel and Hamas, its supplies of shells drop dangerously, President Volodymyr Zelensky regretted on Thursday.
Receiving a group of media, including AFP, the Ukrainian head of state admitted that the fighting in the Gaza Strip had resulted in a slowdown in deliveries of artillery ammunition, crucial for his army.
“In the Middle East, what do you think they started buying first? The (shells of) caliber 155. Our supplies have diminished,” he said.
Israel, which enjoys military support from the United States, has relentlessly bombed the Gaza Strip since Hamas fighters massacred hundreds of civilians in an unprecedented assault in early October.
“Empty warehouses”
“It’s not like the United States said: we’re not giving anything to Ukraine. No ! We have serious, very powerful relations,” assured Mr. Zelensky. “It’s normal, everyone is fighting to survive. I’m not saying it’s a positive thing, but it’s life and we have to defend what’s ours.”
“Today we have problems with artillery shells of 155 millimeter caliber,” he lamented.
Around the world “now the warehouses are empty or there is a legal minimum that this or that particular state cannot give you,” he explained. “And that’s not enough.”
This problem is all the more serious because on the other side of the front line, Russian forces are stockpiling missiles in anticipation of massive attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure this winter, added the Ukrainian president.
“I think they’re stockpiling (missiles), but they don’t have many more missiles than before. Otherwise, they would have already started bombing,” he said.
His country expects further attacks on its energy network, like last winter, when millions of Ukrainians were left without heat or electricity in freezing temperatures.
“I think we are better prepared for winter than before,” said Mr. Zelensky. “But I don’t think Russia will use fewer weapons. The winter will be difficult.”
“In terms of air defense, we are in a better position than last winter,” he added.
According to him, the Ukrainian army manages to shoot down “75-80%” of Iranian-made explosive drones that Russia often uses against its neighbor, particularly during its night attacks.
Faced with this danger, Western countries, which have supported the Ukrainian military effort since the first days of the Russian invasion, are multiplying reassuring declarations, even if voices are sometimes raised to demand a reduction in this support.
Thus the new head of British diplomacy, David Cameron, visiting Kyiv for his first international trip, promised Thursday that London would continue to help Ukraine “as long as it takes”.
PHOTO FROM THE PRESS OFFICE OF THE UKRAINIAN PRESIDENCY, PROVIDED BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Volodymyr Zelensky and David Cameron
“We will continue to provide you with the moral, diplomatic, economic, but above all military support that you need not only this year, and next year, but also for as long as it takes,” assured the British official. .
“Russia thinks […] that the West will end up focusing its attention elsewhere” than on Ukraine, “there is nothing further from the truth,” insisted Mr. Cameron, whose country is the second largest donor of military aid to Ukraine, with 4.6 billion pounds (5.3 billion euros) pledged to date.
Maritime protection
The negotiations with the British delegation focused on deliveries of “weapons for the front line, the strengthening of air defense, the protection of our population and our essential infrastructure”, detailed Mr. Zelensky on Telegram.
In Kyiv, Mr Cameron was also briefed on the military situation. The front has been virtually frozen for a year, despite the launch of a Ukrainian counter-offensive in June.
He then went to Odessa to discuss with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kouleba, in particular on the insurance mechanism established by Kyiv with British insurers for ships exporting Ukrainian grain.
“This measure is essential for Ukraine’s export earnings and economic recovery,” David Cameron said.
On the ground, the head of the Ukrainian army, Valery Zaluzhny, admitted in early November that the two armies were currently “at an impasse” on the ground.
Kyiv’s troops, however, recently managed to establish positions on the left bank of the Dnieper River in the part of the Kherson region occupied by the Russian army. A breakthrough in this sector would be a significant success.
But Kremlin forces are not to be outdone, bombing in the south and attacking in the east.
In Kherson, capital of the eponymous region taken over by Kyiv in November 2022 and bombarded daily by the Russians, a man was killed and a woman injured Thursday morning, according to regional authorities.