Zelenskyy seeks more support to fight Russia

For the first time, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined a meeting of more than 50 defence leaders from around the world Wednesday to make a personal pitch for military aid, in the face of lagging political support in the US and new pressure on allies to send weapons to bolster Israel’s war with Hamas.

His presence underscored growing concerns about cracks in what has been staunch international backing for Kyiv in its war against Russia’s invasion, and worries that Ukrainian forces haven’t made measurable progress in the counteroffensive, as winter closes in. “Next Monday, we will mark the 600th day of our resistance to Russia’s 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,” Zelenskyy told the gathering as they opened the meeting. “But 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.” The meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group was hosted by the US.