News of a request to the Pentagon for additional missiles as a “prevention” was seen as an “escalation” and the secret was out. Zelensky calls for more support from NATO.
Broken promises and information leaks: these were the central themes of Volodymyr Zelensky’s statements to journalists from the Nordic countries in Iceland, within the framework of the fourth Ukraine-Northern Europe summit, which the president of Ukraine described as “productive” . The leaders of Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland were present at this event.
And the Head of State began with a strong accusation against the United States of America, regarding an alleged leak of information. Last Tuesday, the New York Times reported on a request Zelensky made to American leaders: Tomahawk missiles, with a range of 2,400 kilometers. According to Zelensky, this request was “confidential” and that is why he was not happy that the American newspaper made available the privileged information contained in its secret “non-nuclear deterrence package”, integrated into Ukraine’s “victory plan”.
“It was confidential information between Ukraine and the White House. How can we understand these messages?” Zelensky asked and then responded. “This means that there is no confidentiality between partners,” he said, quoted by The Kyiv Independent. Regretting what happened, the president adds that he asked that the missiles only be used if Russia refuses to end the war and reduce the military offensive. “I said it was a preventative method. “They told me it was an escalation,” Zelensky said.
In addition, he also mentioned the possibility of troops from several European countries joining Ukraine’s combat forces. The idea was immediately denied by Volodymyr Zelensky, who claims to have never insisted on the issue for fear of “destroying the support of his allies,” the Ukrinform agency quotes.
In the presence of five heads of NATO member states, the President of Ukraine revealed that the Alliance has not yet met the promised deadlines for the delivery of “six or seven specific systems to protect the Ukrainian skies.” Zelensky explained that the allies were not willing to grant Ukraine membership in NATO during the last summit, but that they offered these air defense systems as a commitment of support.
Since the start of the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk, Russia, the Kremlin has indicated that Ukraine’s intentions in the region include attacking the local nuclear power plant. A decision that Volodymyr Zelensky denies. “If we wanted to occupy the plant, we would have done so already,” The Kyiv Independent quotes. “Russia believes itself to be very strong, but we could have done it, we simply never wanted to do it,” revealed the president of Ukraine, indicating that they do not intend to occupy “critical infrastructure” because they do not want to become “equal to Moscow.”
As has been a topic in recent days, the presence of North Korean soldiers in Russia was, once again, the subject of the statements of the president of Ukraine. “The voices of the United States, NATO, the West and China do not sound as strong as they should,” he said, adding that he considers the phenomenon “very dangerous” and that it “opens a new page in this war.” Zelensky calls for an effective response to North Korea’s involvement in the conflict and indicates that if the allies’ efforts do not increase, then “perhaps Iran will also join.”
Source: Observadora
