Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the UK on the 15th and was greeted by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Earlier, Britain had promised Ukraine hundreds of missiles and attack drones to change the course of the war.
Seeking more aid to prepare for the spring offensive to recover territories occupied by Russia, Ukraine’s President Zelensky has visited the UK in the past few days, making him the fourth European country after Germany, Italy and France. After visiting Germany and Italy, meeting with leaders of both countries and Pope Francis, he visited France without notice on the 14th to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“The UK is leading the way in expanding our capabilities on the ground and in the air,” Zelensky said via Telegram. Today I will meet Prime Minister Rishi. We will conduct substantive negotiations both face-to-face and through delegations.”
Britain is Ukraine’s main military ally, supplying Ukraine with short-range missiles and Challenger tanks, and training 15,000 Ukrainian troops. Last week, it announced that it had sent Stormshadow cruise missiles to Ukraine with a range of over 250 kilometers.
Prime Minister Sunak’s office said on the 15th that Britain would confirm the delivery of hundreds of air defense missiles and “long-range attack drones” to Ukraine with a range of more than 200 km.
Prime Minister Sunak said: “This is a decisive moment for Ukraine to resist a terrible war of aggression that it neither chose nor provoked. “Ukraine needs the continued support of the international community to defend against ruthless and indiscriminate attacks that have been a daily reality for over a year,” he said. “We must not disappoint them.”
Prime Minister Sunak will also call for more aid to Ukraine at the G7 summit in Japan this weekend, the prime minister’s office said.
Meanwhile, President Zelensky said Ukraine would not attack Russian territory.
The Washington Post (WP) reported earlier, citing undisclosed leaked U.S. intelligence documents, that Zelensky had been considering occupying suitable Russian territory so that he could use it as a bargaining chip in the peace negotiations to end the war. Western countries, on the other hand, provided weapons to Ukraine and demanded that these weapons not be used against Russia.
“We are not attacking Russian territory, we are liberating our legal territory,” Zelensky said. We have neither the time nor the strength (to attack Russia), nor do we have spare weapons for him. “We are only preparing counterattacks against illegally occupied territories based on internationally recognized legal borders,” he said.
[런던=AP/뉴시스]
Source: Donga