Andrew Meldrum Associated Press
Kyiv, UKRAINE (AP) — The president of the Russian parliament warned on Sunday that countries supplying Ukraine with more powerful weapons risk their own destruction. .
“The supply of offensive weapons to the Kyiv regime would lead to a global catastrophe,” said Vyacheslav Borodin, Speaker of the State Duma. “Washington and NATO supplying weapons used to attack peaceful cities and attempt to seize our territories as they threaten will provoke retaliation with stronger weapons.”
Ukrainian supporters, who pledged billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine on Friday, agree to Ukraine’s urgent demand for German-made Leopard 2 tanks at an international conference in Ramstein, Germany. The new promise was overshadowed by defense leaders who were unable to do so.
Germany, one of the major arms suppliers to Ukraine, has ordered a review of its Leopard 2 stocks in preparation for a possible green light. Nevertheless, the Berlin government has shown caution at each stage of its growing engagement with Ukraine, a hesitation seen as rooted in its history and political culture.
Its interimity has drawn sharp criticism from the former Russian-dominated Poland and Baltic states, especially those that feel particularly threatened by Russia’s new imperial ambitions.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he was ready to build a “smaller coalition” to send his country’s tanks if Germany did not agree to hand over Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
“It’s been almost a year since the outbreak of the war,” Morawiecki said in an interview with Polish state news agency PAP, published Sunday. “Evidence of the war crimes of the Russian army can be seen on TV and YouTube.
“Above all, Berlin must not undermine or interfere with the activities of other countries,” Morawiecki said.
In Washington, two leading lawmakers Sunday urged the United States to send some of its Abrams tanks to Ukraine to overcome Germany’s reluctance to share its own and better Leopard 2 tanks. bottom.
Rep. Michael McCall, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, told ABC’s “This Sunday” that “if they announced they would give them just one Abrams tank, it would unleash a stream of tanks from Germany. ‘ said. “What I hear is that Germany is waiting for us to take the lead.”
Democratic Senator Chris Coons, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and considered a close ally of President Joe Biden, was also vocal about the US sending Abrams.
“I am concerned that Russia is regrouping and preparing for a spring offensive,” Koons said. “If you need to send Abrams tanks to unlock getting Leopard tanks from Germany, Poland and other allies, I support it.”
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said of the Ramstein meeting that “there was no doubt that the enemy would try to either exhaust us or, better, destroy us.” “They have enough weapons,” he added.
Former Russian President Medvedev has warned on his messaging app channel that Russia may seek to form a military alliance with US enemies. He did not name the country he had in mind, but Russia has defense cooperation with Iran and Venezuela, an existing military alliance with Belarus, and strong ties with North Korea. Joint military exercises with China have since increased in both scope and number.
“If the conflict drags on, new military alliances will emerge, including the United States and countries that are fed up with packs of neutered dogs,” Medvedev said.
Ukraine wants more weapons as it expects Russian forces to launch a new offensive in the spring.
Secretary of the Ukrainian Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov warned that Russia could step up its offensive in the south and east and try to cut off the supply routes of weapons to the West, but President Vladimir Putin stated that conquering Kyiv “is still the main dream.” “Fantasy,” he said.
He described the Kremlin’s goals in the conflict as “complete and absolute genocide, war of total destruction.”
“Moscow wants to completely destroy Ukraine as a historical phenomenon, the bearer of its language, history, culture, Ukrainian identity,” Danilov wrote in his Ukrainsk Pravda column.
Among those calling for more weapons for Ukraine was former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Sunday.
“This is the time to double down and give Ukrainians all the tools they need to get the job done. said in
Johnson, who is facing new problems with his personal finances at home, was photographed in the town of Borodyanka in the Kyiv region.
Last week was particularly tragic for Ukraine, even by the standards of a brutal war that lasted nearly a year. Tens of thousands were killed, millions more displaced, and large-scale destruction of Ukrainian cities.
On January 14, at least 45 civilians, including six children, were killed when a Russian missile hit an apartment complex in the southeastern city of Dnipro. On Wednesday, a government helicopter carrying the interior minister and other officials crashed into a building housing a kindergarten on the outskirts of Kyiv. Among his 14 dead were a minister and a child who was lying on the ground.
Zelensky, who mourned the victims of the helicopter crash on Saturday, vowed on Sunday that Ukraine would win the war.
We are united because we are strong. said in a video speech.
“Dear Invincible People, Happy Ukrainian Unity Day!” he said.
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