Volodymyr Zelenskiy has stepped up calls for Ukraine’s army to be supplied with heavy tanks and urged “resolve and speed” of decision-making from western allies in the face of resistance from the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz.
Addressing a packed gathering at the World Economic Forum in Davos via video link on Wednesday, Ukraine’s president warned that “tyranny is outpacing democracy” as Germany hesitates over whether to supply the country with Leopard 2 tanks.
Scholz dashed hopes that he would announce a decision to supply Ukraine with heavy tanks in his keynote speech in Davos earlier in the day, making no new weapon commitments and warning the world needed to avoid escalating the conflict into a war between Russia and Nato.
Instead, Scholz ran through a list of the military hardware Germany was supplying and stressed his country’s determination to ensure Ukraine triumphed.
But speaking hours after a helicopter crash near a suburb of Kyiv that killed 14 people, including Ukraine’s interior minister, Denys Monastyrsky, Zelenskiy said that Ukraine cannot afford to wait for Russia to regroup.
“The world must not hesitate today and ever. When the evil seeks revenge the world needs resolve and speed,” said Zelenskiy.
“The supply of Ukraine with air defence systems must outpace Russia’s next missile attacks. The supply of western tanks must outpace another invasion of Russian tanks.
“The restoration of security and peace in Ukraine must outpace Russia’s attacks on security and peace in other countries.”
His speech was attended by his wife, Olena Zelenska, and some of Ukraine’s closest allies including the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, as well as the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg.
Duda said he was afraid that Russia was preparing a new offensive in Ukraine within months, reiterating calls for Kyiv to be supplied with tanks and missiles.
“They [Russia] are still very strong and we are afraid they are preparing for a new offensive in a few months so it’s crucial to send additional support to Ukraine, specifically modern tanks and modern missiles,” he said.
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Speaking in person at Davos before Zelenskiy’s address, Scholz attacked Russia’s “imperialistic” war and stressed that for the war to end the Kremlin’s aggression had to fail.
“That is why we are continuously supplying Ukraine with large quantities of arms, in close consultation with our partners.
“This includes air defence systems like IRIS-T or Patriot, artillery, and armoured infantry fighting vehicles, marking a profound turning point in German foreign and security policy.”
The UK, Poland and the Baltic states have been urging Germany to go further and give permission for the re-export of some of the 2,300 Leopard 2 tanks available or in storage across Europe.
Questioned by a Ukrainian attender in Davos about why he had not given the go-ahead for the Leopard 2 tanks, Scholz said: “Ukraine can rely on our support for their courageous fight but it is also clear we must avoid this becoming a war between Russia and Nato.”
