CNN
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday urged international leaders to quickly assist war-torn Ukraine and “not wait until November or any other month.”
Zelensky said “everyone is waiting for November”, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the 2024 US presidential election and the threat of President Donald Trump’s reelection being top of mind for international leaders gathered in Washington DC for a crucial NATO summit.
“Now is the time to come out of the shadows, to make strong decisions and take action, not to wait for November or any other month. To do that, we must be strong and uncompromising,” Zelensky said. “And above all America, and above all the leader of America, and the leader of the free world, the president of the United States, must be uncompromising in defense of democracy. We must be uncompromising towards President Putin and his country. We must be uncompromising against all forms of terrorism.”
Zelensky’s remarks at the Ronald Reagan Institute in Washington came on the sidelines of a summit in which long-term support for Ukraine in its war with Russia was at the forefront. In the coming days, the Ukrainian president is due to meet with President Joe Biden in a bid to strengthen and expand allied support for his country.
Zelensky called on the United States to provide more “answers” to Ukraine and other allies that share Russia’s borders, saying: “We have proven time and time again that the more answers we have, the harder it is for President Putin to wage war. He still thinks war is profitable. He still thinks it will benefit him to humiliate the United States.”
“If the U.S. leadership supports us with the necessary deep strike capabilities against Russian military and logistical forces in Ukrainian Crimea, Ukraine will be able to significantly limit Russian actions in southern Ukraine and expel the occupying forces,” he said.
The United States has promised to make “significant” announcements about Ukraine at the three-day international conference, with Biden opening the meeting this evening with a speech announcing plans to supply the country with new air defence weapons.
Ahead of the summit, NATO allies made clear that Ukraine would be a main focus: “Priority one, two and three is Ukraine,” one European diplomat said.
But as the war drags on with few signs of a diplomatic or military victory for Kiev, questions are emerging about whether the show of support is enough. Concerns about NATO’s future if Trump wins the November presidential election are weighing on many participants who were not reassured by Biden’s dismal performance in last month’s debate.
Zelensky arrived in the US capital on Monday evening in the shadow of deadly Russian attacks on cities across Ukraine earlier in the day, with a barrage of missiles hitting buildings across the country, including Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital, killing more than 30 people.
Russian officials have denied the Kremlin was behind the attacks, but Zelenskiy said: “Russia always knows where the missiles land – always.”
On Tuesday night, the United States and some NATO allies announced they would provide Ukraine with more Patriot batteries and additional systems to bolster Kiev’s air defenses against ongoing Russian air attacks.
According to the joint statement, the United States, Germany and Romania will each provide their own Patriot squadrons, the Netherlands will work with other countries to enable the deployment of additional Patriot squadrons, while Italy will also provide its SAMP-T long-range air defense system.
“This is another important step following the U.S. decision to prioritize Ukraine for the deployment of air defense missiles,” Zelensky wrote on X after the announcement. “We appreciate President Biden’s leadership and the commitment of all our partners to provide us with air defense capabilities as soon as possible.”
“Russian air terrorism against Ukrainians, including yesterday’s brutal attack on a children’s hospital, must be met with unity, strength and firm, bold determination. And that is exactly what such determination will ensure,” he wrote.
Officials said the timing of Moscow’s attack, the day before the summit was to begin, was calculated. As Ukrainian parliament speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk put it, it was “a greeting from President Putin to all NATO countries, a mockery of our attempts to toe the red line.”
He also said the attack underscores the need for continued military support for Ukraine and the ability to use its weapons to strike targets deep inside Russian territory.
“This attack, this attack against the future of Ukraine, should not be ignored, because our children are our future,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a speech Tuesday alongside U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “We look forward to discussing ways to further strengthen Ukraine’s defense.”
“We want any restrictions on weapons that Ukraine receives to be lifted,” Stefanchuk said at an event in Washington on Monday.
The Biden administration recently shifted policy to allow U.S. weapons to be used to strike Russian territory where Russian forces are conducting cross-border attacks into Ukraine, but Ukrainian officials want that policy expanded further to allow strikes on Russian targets anywhere on Russian territory.
Stefanchuk on Monday called for a “stable and predictable supply” of “these weapons” and ammunition, as well as the ability to effectively counter “threats from the air”, namely F-16 fighter jets.
“We don’t want to wait for another sanctions package like an iPhone package,” he said, noting that only one type of sanctions is needed – sanctions that “make Russia feel the economic pain of this war.”
Speaking on his arrival in the US capital, Zelenskiy said Kiev would fight for “decisive action” from the United States and Europe at the summit.
Ukraine also wants to see clear progress towards joining NATO.
The issue sparked a diplomatic row ahead of the Vilnius summit last year, with Zelenskiy fuming as it was “unprecedented and absurd” that there was no deadline set for either the invitation to join NATO or for Ukraine to join.
Officials said communication with Ukraine in the run-up to the summit has been much more intense this year. European diplomats said they had “deep and frank discussions” with Ukrainian officials. Presidential adviser Andriy Yermak traveled to Washington last week to work out a set of engagements for the summit.
As CNN reported on Monday, the draft text of the NATO joint statement described Ukraine’s path to NATO membership as “irreversible,” according to three sources familiar with the matter.
Still, some say a stronger commitment to Ukraine is needed. “This irreversibility is quite reversible,” one senior European diplomat quipped.
“What we’ve said in terms of the bridge to NATO membership and the deliverables that we’re going to announce for Ukraine is pretty significant,” a senior Biden administration official said Friday.
“We’re not just talking about some kind of plan of how to get from here to there. We’re talking about standing up an entire command center in Wiesbaden and looking at how to do the various pieces that I mentioned earlier: training, coordination, equipment, coordination, logistics, force development. This is a very serious effort, as I said, to put Ukraine in a position to assume its role and responsibilities within the alliance from day one,” the official said.
“I’ll let the Ukrainians speak for themselves, but I think they understand the value of what NATO does for them,” they said.
This headline and article have been updated with additional reporting.
CNN’s Mariya Knight, Hira Humayun, Oren Lieberman, Kayla Tausche, Maria Kostenko and Radina Gigova contributed to this report.
