Zelensky, call from Davos for the unity of the West against Russian aggression

2024-01-16 20:41:38, Kosova & Bota CNA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the West to be united in providing support to Ukraine as it faces Russia's nearly two-year war.

He has called on Kiev's allies to help this country in creating air superiority against Moscow, so as to ensure victory on the battlefield.

"We must have air superiority for Ukraine," Zelensky said at the Davos Economic Forum.

"Just as we have achieved superiority in the Black Sea, we can do this. This will enable progress on the ground... partners know what is needed and in what capacity," Zelensky said.

He said earlier that there is a need to increase the air defense capacity, as he talked with the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken and the head of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, on January 16, in Davos, as well as held meetings with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

"As Ukraine approaches the start of talks on membership in the European Union, we have agreed to take an additional step towards starting the analysis of Ukrainian legislation," Zelensky said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, after the meeting that has developed with the head of the EU.

Before Zelensky's speech, von der Leyen told the participants in Davos that although Ukraine may win the war, "we must continue to strengthen its resistance".

"Ukrainians need predictable finances through 2024 and beyond. They need sufficient supplies of weapons to defend Ukraine and to restore the right to their territory", she added.

Ukraine has been the target of a series of intense Russian attacks since the start of the war.

The Ukrainian leader has recently held several meetings around the world, to increase support for Ukraine, after the decline of readiness in some capitals to allocate funds for Kiev.

Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine has begun on February 24, 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the war a "special military operation" to demilitarize Ukraine.

The West has responded to Russia, hitting the economy of this country with harsh sanctions.

As a result of the war, thousands of people have died and millions more have been displaced from their homes./ REL