Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday renewed his almost weekly call for Western nations to do more to help his besieged nation in its fight against invading Russian forces.
Financial donations remain a top priority closely followed by a call for advanced fighter jets and associated trainers.
“The sooner we stop Russia, the sooner we can feel safe,” Zelensky said while meeting defense leaders at a Denmark conference aimed at ensuring foreign supplies continue delivering weapons, training, and demining work in his country.
“We need armaments, munitions for our defense,” the leader added, speaking via a live link from Ukraine.
(LtoR) Britain’s Defence Minister Ben Wallace, Danish Defence Minister Morten Boedskov, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, and Ukrainian Lieutenant Olga Babych listen as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky via video link addresses the Ukraine Donor Conference at in Copenhagen, on August 11, 2022. (PHILIP DAVALI/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty)
AP reports Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, who attended the conference in Denmark’s capital, told journalists that acquiring more fighter planes is the country’s priority right now.
“In the first stage, we need fighters. After that, demining,” Reznikov said.
The call comes after five and a half months of fighting and as main donor nations grapple with financial problems of their own with rising inflation cutting into budgets and discretionary spending power of governments and consumers alike.
Denmark co-hosted the daylong conference in Copenhagen with Britain and Ukraine. The AP report outlines British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the goal of the event was securing “concrete steps.”
He announced Britain will send more multiple launch rocket systems and guided missiles to Ukraine to help it resist Russia’s invasion.
Before the conference started, the Danish government said it would give Ukraine an extra 820 million kroner ($113 million), which would bring Denmark’s total contribution to the war effort to more than 3 billion kroner ($413 million).
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called it “a huge donation.”
The latest call for funds follows a conference held last month in Warsaw that received pledges for $6.5 billion more in humanitarian aid that sought to deliver Ukrainians urgent help while still planning for the country’s post-war reconstruction.
The U.S. alone has committed to giving Ukraine close to $40 billion in financial support, as Breitbart News reported.
As part of those millions in funds, Ukrainians will be provided with medical services, housing money, and “culturally and linguistically appropriate services.”