Editor TLN
It is the eighth time that the President of Ukraine has participated in a European Council since the outbreak of the war. This time, Volodimir Zelensky gave his speech to the heads of state and government of the 27 from a moving train with which he visited the battlefront (localities such as Bakhmut, Kherson or Zaporizhia) to encourage the population and their troops, according to diplomatic sources.
With a unstable connection which has been cut once, Zelensky has concluded the agreement in the EU to supply his country with one million ammunition within twelve months to face the new Russian offensives. At the same time, has asked European leaders to do more and above all faster.
In a 10-minute speech, the Ukrainian president reproached the EU five delays that in his opinion threaten to prolong the war even more, report the sources consulted. First, Zelensky has complained about the delay in the delivery of long-range missiles, which he says has made it difficult to defend Zaporizhia from drone attacks by the Kremlin.
[Zelenski viaja a Jersón tras acudir al frente de batalla en la asediada Bakhmut: “Reconstruiré todo”]
Secondly, the Ukrainian president has asked the EU heads of state and government for modern combat aircraft. Until now, only Poland and Slovakia have agreed to supply fighters to Ukraine, although these are old devices from the Soviet era. Both the United States and NATO refuse to send F-16 fighters for fear of getting into a direct clash with Moscow.
Zelensky also complains that the EU does not rush in the approval of a new package of sanctions against the Kremlin and to consider relaxing some of the restrictive measures already in place. The fourth reason that could prolong the war is that European leaders do not decide to start accession negotiations with Ukrainedespite the fact that the kyiv government is making the reforms required in the midst of the conflict.
Finally, the Ukrainian president has rejected such a waste of time any peace formula that does not guarantee the sovereignty and territorial integrity of your country. Zelensky has positively assessed the arrest warrant issued against Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court for his role in the deportation of Russian children. As the connection was so unstable, the intervention has ended without any European leader replying.
In its conclusions on Ukraine, the European Council states that it “will continue to provide strong political, economic, military, financial and humanitarian support to Ukraine and its population for as long as necessary“. European leaders reiterate their endorsement of “President Zelensky’s Peace Formula” and say they will continue to actively collaborate with Ukraine on the ten-point peace plan.
The EU “takes note” of the arrest warrants of the International Criminal Court, against the president of Russia and against its commissioner for the rights of the child. And he promises to continue working on the establishment of an appropriate mechanism for the prosecution of the crime of aggression. The heads of state and government do not rule out imposing more sanctions on Moscow, although they say that the priority now is to ensure that those that have already been approved are complied with.
