He claimed that failing to help Ukraine would result in a delayed war between Russia and the West.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the US-led NATO bloc to support his country amid the ongoing conflict with Russia, claiming that Kiev's defeat would result in a delayed war between Moscow and the whole West. Zelensky spoke to the NATO summit in Madrid via a video link on Wednesday.
It is either urgent aid to Ukraine sufficient to win, or a delayed war between Russia and you, Zelensky told NATO leaders.
The country needs both direct military and financial aid, according to Zelensky, as well as $5 billion a month is needed to cover its budget deficit. Top Ukrainian officials have called for financial support from the West.
Financial aid for Ukraine has no less significance than arms deliveries, Zelensky said. You know that we need $5 billon every month. This is a fundamental thing that is needed for defense and protection. To help Ukraine end this war with a victory on the battlefield, that is, to give a really strong response to Russia's actions. This is what we, and the entire Euro-Atlantic community need.
After the conflict is over, Ukraine must be provided with a decent place in Western security architecture, according to Zelensky, who opposed the possibility of Ukraine remaining in a gray zone between Russia and the NATO bloc. He stressed that we need security guarantees and that we need to find a place for Ukraine in the common security space.
Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev's failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by France and Germany, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has admitted that Kiev's main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and create powerful armed forces. In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself as a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists that the Russian offensive was unprovoked.