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BRUSSELS, 11 Oct: For the first time, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined a meeting of more than 50 defense leaders from around the world Wednesday to make a personal pitch for military aid, in the face of lagging political support in the U.S. and new pressure on allies to send weapons to bolster Israel\u2019s war with Hamas.<\/p>\n
His presence underscored growing concerns about cracks in what has been staunch international backing for Kyiv in its war against Russia\u2019s invasion, and worries that Ukrainian forces haven\u2019t made measurable progress in the counteroffensive as winter closes in.<\/p>\n
Asked about concerns that Ukraine could get less military support because of the war in Israel, Zelenskyy said there is a \u201cvery understandable volume\u201d that the U.S. and Europe can provide. He said he has asked that question himself, and added he thinks nobody really knows but that he is still assuming U.S. and European support.<\/p>\n
As for the Israel complication, \u201cof course, everybody\u2019s afraid, and I think also Russia\u2019s counting on it, on dividing support,\u201d he added, in remarks at a press conference with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.\u201c<\/p>\n
\u201cNext Monday, we will mark the 600th day of our resistance to Russia\u2019s full scale aggression against our people, against Ukraine. And today, no one can say for sure how many more days we will have to defend our independence and to defend our identity,\u201d Zelenskyy told the gathering at the opening of the meeting. \u201cBut we can already say several things which I think are important. First, Putin will not achieve Ukraine. Second, Russia cannot afford a new arms race. And third, democracy can win this battle.\u201d<\/p>\n
The meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, hosted by the U.S., comes as Ukraine is desperately seeking more weapons to help its troops regain ground from Russian forces before the muddy weather sets in. But political chaos in Congress has stalled approval of new Ukraine funding, and there has been growing opposition among some lawmakers to any increase in spending.<\/p>\n
Speaking as he entered NATO headquarters, Zelenskyy noted the Israel war, and said Ukrainians understand such tragedy. But he was also quick to detail Ukraine\u2019s ongoing need for air defense systems and long-range missiles \u201cto push Russia out of our land.\u201d<\/p>\n
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters traveling with him to Brussels that support for Ukraine continues unabated. He said a number of allies will announce they are sending additional weapons and other support to Kyiv. A key demand has been more air defense systems and munitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe energy, in my view, is still there,\u201d said Austin. \u201cAnd I will reassure them that we remain committed to this.\u201d<\/p>\n
He echoed those thoughts as he opened the meeting, asserting that Ukraine is making steady progress in the war. And he said allies during this meeting would focus not only on meeting Kyiv\u2019s immediate needs but also on setting up plans to coordinate investments in Ukraine\u2019s future force.<\/p>\n
The contact group is the main forum for raising contributions of weapons, equipment and training for Kyiv\u2019s war effort. It meets about once a month, in person and virtually, and this is the 16th gathering.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy, who was greeted with applause as he entered the building, went immediately into a private session with Austin and U.S. Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters as he came in, Zelenskyy reiterated his country\u2019s need for long-range missiles and ammunition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very important that there are priorities. There are air defense systems. These are not just basic words. These are very concrete things and we need them,\u201d Zelenskyy said.<\/p>\n
Following that meeting, the 31 allies and Ukraine will take part in the first NATO-Ukraine Council at this level. The forum was formally established in July as part of efforts to bring Kyiv closer to the alliance. It allows NATO and Kyiv to discuss issues of common interest and concern. (AP)<\/p>\n
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BRUSSELS, 11 Oct: For the first time, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined a meeting of more than 50 defense leaders from around the world Wednesday to make a personal pitch for military aid, in the face of lagging political support in the U.S. and new pressure on allies to send weapons to bolster Israel\u2019s war […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-225939","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225939\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}