Ukraine’s Zelensky rallies Balkan allies for support, weapons
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama delivering a press conference in Tirana, Albania.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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TIRANA – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb 28 pleaded with Balkan leaders for greater backing to help fend off Russian forces, emphasising how ammunition shortages were impacting front-line troops.
Mr Zelensky has been criss-crossing the globe in recent weeks to rally support for his embattled country, as fresh US support is tangled in domestic politics and Russia has made battlefield advances.
During opening remarks at the meeting in Albania, Mr Zelensky thanked Balkan leaders for their military and humanitarian support over the past two years of war, but emphasised that supplies were still running low at the front line.
“We see the problems with the supply of ammunition, which are affecting the situation on the battlefield,” said Mr Zelensky, adding that his administration was interested in hosting a future “Ukrainian-Balkans defence industry forum”.
Mr Zelensky went on to stress that efforts to supply Ukraine must be streamlined immediately, warning against further delays that provided Russia with an advantage in the war.
“Every pause in supply, every doubt that the world is ready to defend itself, all this inspires one person. All this inspires (Vladimir) Putin,” he told reporters, referring to the Russian President.
“We don’t have time, and we don’t have alternatives,” he added.
The comments came hours after arriving in Albania late on Feb 27 for the Ukraine-South-east Europe summit – his first visit to the Balkan nation since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Following a sit-down with Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama on Feb 28, Mr Zelensky said the two sides were exploring further defence cooperation.
“Since the first days of the full-scale invasion, Albania has supported Ukraine in our struggle for freedom and territorial integrity,” he wrote on X.
“Today we also discussed Ukraine’s defence needs and potential joint arms production,” he added.
Urgent need for help
Albania, a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member since 2009, has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine but has stayed largely quiet in public about supplying Kyiv with arms.
During a visit to Albania earlier in February,
“It was one of the first countries to send military aid to Ukraine in the wake of the Russian aggression – guns, ammunition, mine resistant vehicles – and it’s currently one of the top 10 per capita in terms of its support for Ukraine and security assistance,” Mr Blinken said.
Leaders from across the Balkans – including Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, and Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani – were in attendance at the summit in Tirana.
Serbia remains a rare outlier in the region for refusing to sanction Russia, while Ukraine has never formally recognised Kosovo’s independence declaration in 2008.
Despite the lack of ties, Dr Osmani said the government in Pristina was supportive of Ukraine.
“The moment of joint recognition will come with the freedom of Ukraine,” Dr Osmani told reporters as she entered the summit.
Mr Zelensky has repeatedly pleaded with allies for more aid, warning that Ukrainian victory depends on the West boosting support.
Already outgunned, his country is fending off a renewed Russian offensive with dwindling ammunition that has had to be rationed.
US aid dries up
European Union allies are rallying to address that shortfall with a Czech-led plan to buy artillery from outside the bloc.
More than two years after Russia’s invasion, the EU is facing the prospect of having to shoulder more of the aid burden as funds from the United States dry up.
Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani (centre) with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky (left) and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, as they arrive ahead of the Ukraine–South-east Europe summit in Tirana.
PHOTO: AFP
Political infighting in the US Congress has stalled a vital US$60 billion (S$81 billion) aid package,
House Speaker Mike Johnson, an ally of former president Donald Trump and head of a razor-thin Republican majority, has refused to allow a vote on the package.
French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, provoked a backlash from fellow allies he raised the possibility of sending Western troops
Before arriving in Tirana, Mr Zelensky stopped in Saudi Arabia,
Saudi Arabia maintains relations with both Russia and Ukraine and has mediated between the warring parties before, including a deal struck in September 2022 that saw the release of more than 200 captive Ukrainians. AFP
