President Zelensky Asked For Tanks, Air Defense And Combat Jets To PM Rishi Sunak And The British Leadership Alliance

JAKARTA - The President of Ukraine requested supplies of various types of weapons, ranging from air defenses, cannons to fighter jets, during a speech to the leaders of the British-led alliance nation at the Riga Summit, Monday.

Ukraine has actually received a stream of support from Western allies led by the United States in the form of funding, weaponry to military training, but it needs further support to deal with an invasion that has entered its tenth month.

"How this war will end, it will depend more on you. The more successful our defense forces are, the sooner Russian aggression will fail," President Zelensky said in his video link address at a meeting of Britain-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) country leader Riga, Latvia.

"I ask you to increase the possibility of supplying air defense systems to our country, and to help speed up the relevant decisions that will be taken by our partners," President Zelensky said, speaking to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

"100 percent air rivals for Ukraine. That will be one of the most successful cessation against Russian aggression and this is necessary at this time," he added.

The @JEFnations are some of Ukraine’s closest friends and allies.We know that their security is our security. The resolve around the table today was clear: we will continue to #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/IvNftQbkG1

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) December 19, 2022

Without directly answering the request, PM Sunak replied that the leaders gathered in Riga would "talk about the best way we can continue to support you and give you everything you need".

President Zelensky further said there was "no explanation" as to why Ukraine was not supplied by German-made Leopard tanks, and asked the Netherlands, whose troops used the tanks, to speak with Germany.

"In order for our defense operation to be more successful, we need armored vehicles, especially tanks," President Zelensky said. Germany itself did not include JEF and was not present at the Riga meeting.

President Zelensky called on Norway to supply more NASAMS launchers and missiles, to Swedish-produced Gripen fighters, RBS 98 missiles and Archer artillery.

In addition, he also asked Denmark to transfer the Ceasar howizer to Ukraine, Finland for more ammunition bullets, Lithuania for NASAM as well as Stinger, Latvian missiles for artillery and Estonia for howitzer and ammunition.

"The sooner we recover our border controls, the stronger your security will be," President Zelensky said.

"The Ukrainian children in their letter to St Nicholas asked for air defenses, weapons, victory," he concluded.

It is known, JEF is configured to respond quickly to the crisis in Northern Europe, consisting of England, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.