Ukrainian President, Zelensky Urges Speedy delivery of Western Tanks

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky in an address has urged the West to send long-range missiles and fighter jets.

His comments came after the US and Germany announced they would send Abrams and Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

Russia condemned the announcement as a “blatant provocation” and said any supplied tanks would be destroyed.

The tanks would “burn like all the rest,” said Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman. “They are just very expensive.”

Mr Zelensky said he told Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that “progress must be made in other aspects of our defence co-operation” – with Ukraine seeking supplies of long-range missiles and artillery.

He pressed not only for a prompt delivery of Western tanks but also for significant numbers: “We must form such a tank force, such a freedom force that after it strikes, tyranny will never again rise up.”

While Mr Zelensky is likely to focus now on equipping the Ukrainian air force with more technologically advanced fighter jets after securing the tanks, many Western governments remain opposed to such a move – fearing the aircraft could be used to strike targets inside Russia.