KYIV – President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that Ukraine would launch a counteroffensive against Russian forces soon, and that he was sure the West would supply Kyiv with modern warplanes afterwards.
Speaking at a news conference in Finland, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (Nato) newest member, Mr Zelensky said one of the reasons he travelled to Helsinki was that Kyiv wanted to become a fully fledged member of the military alliance.
Mr Zelensky said 2023 will be “decisive”, as he reaffirmed his call for heavier weapons ahead of the counteroffensive.
“I believe that this year will be decisive for us, for Europe, for Ukraine, decisive for victory,” he told reporters.
He thanked Finnish President Sauli Niinisto for its military support so far.
While Ukraine has specifically asked for advanced fighter jets, Mr Niinisto said that due to Finland’s geographical location – with its long border to Russia – it “couldn’t give up” its existing jets before the delivery of new ones, scheduled for 2025 onwards.
But Mr Zelensky said he was “sure we’ll have aircraft” and pointed out that so far, Ukraine has first had to prove itself on the battlefield before getting more advanced military support.
“We will conduct offensive actions, and after that we will receive aircraft,” he said.
Mr Zelensky also congratulated Finland on its Nato accession and said “Ukraine needs the same security guarantees”.
“The most powerful security guarantee for Ukraine is Nato membership,” he said.
Citing Nato’s open-door policy, Mr Niinisto said it is “very important” that “all the Nato countries can have a common voice on this”, ahead of Nato’s Vilnius summit in July.
Later on Wednesday, Mr Zelensky was to participate in a summit gathering the leaders of the five Nordic nations.
The Ukrainian leader was due to hold bilateral talks with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Norway’s Jonas Gahr Store, Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen and Iceland’s Katrin Jakobsdottir.
“In order to be in Nato and support alliances to gain support, fundamental diplomatic work must be done. Ukraine is doing it today,” Ms Daria Zarivna, a presidential communications adviser, wrote on Telegram.
All of the Nordic countries have pledged both financial and military support to Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden have also joined in the international effort to supply heavier weapons to Ukraine by donating some of their own Leopard 2 tanks or offering financial support to acquire them.
On Tuesday, Denmark said it was sending 1.7 billion kroner (S$335 million) worth of military aid, its biggest donation to date, “to support the forthcoming Ukrainian offensive”.
Mr Zelensky will next travel to Berlin on May 13 at the invitation of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and then on to Aachen the next day to receive the 2023 Charlemagne prize, said police and media reports on Wednesday.
According to a report by the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel, Mr Zelensky will be received by Mr Scholz with military honours before flying to Aachen in western Germany.
A government spokesman declined to confirm the visit, saying only that Mr Scholz’s appointments would be announced every Friday for the following week.
Germany rallied behind Ukraine after the Russian invasion, imposing sanctions on Moscow along with other Western partners, and shipping aid and weapons to Kyiv.
Ukraine has pressed its allies for long-range weapons, jets and ammunition before a looming counteroffensive aimed at pushing back Russian invasion forces.
Germany and the United States in January announced plans to provide advanced battle tanks to Ukraine after weeks of diplomatic deadlock over the issue, though Berlin has so far declined Kyiv’s requests for advanced fighter jets. REUTERS
