Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyyy said on Saturday that the price of delaying the delivery of combat aircraft to his country is “thousands of Ukrainian lives.”
This came during a call with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda via video conference technology.
In a statement issued by the Ukrainian presidency, Zelenskyyy stressed to his Polish counterpart the need to prevent the bombing of Ukrainian cities from the air, expressing his “disappointment” because the Soviet-made aircraft available in Eastern European countries, especially in Poland, “have not yet been delivered” to Ukraine.
“The price of plane delays is the thousands of Ukrainian lives we lose from missile and airstrikes on peaceful Ukrainian cities,” Zelenskyyy said.
He noted that aircraft, tanks and long-range air defense systems will allow Ukraine to “really defend” freedom in all its territory, and “drastically” change the course of hostilities.
Zelenskyyy warned that if partners do not help Ukraine with planes and tanks, there is a “high risk” that Russian forces will pose a missile threat on the territory of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and the Baltic states.
He noted that there will also be a “general and direct military threat” on the borders and cities of those countries.
“They (the Russians) will go further,” he added.
Zelenskyyy also thanked his Polish counterpart for sheltering Ukrainian refugees.
For his part, Polish President Andrzej Duda said that his country has so far accommodated 2.3 million Ukrainians, for whom the state provides everything they need.
On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine , which was followed by angry international reactions and the imposition of “tough” economic and financial sanctions on Moscow.
To end the operation, Russia requires Ukraine to abandon any plans to join military entities, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and to adhere to complete neutrality, which Kyiv considers an “interference in its sovereignty.”
