Ukraine wants to buy “defense” weapons from the West to counter Russia’s “aggression” on its borders, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said today.
“Russia’s aggression has increased significantly in recent weeks,” Kuleba told a news conference.
In this context, Kiev is negotiating with the West “the conclusion of agreements for additional deliveries of defense weapons to our country”, the minister added without giving further details.
“The Ukrainians and their American and European allies have begun to ‘develop a series of measures to contain Russia,'” Kuleba said. “Strengthening the defense capacity of the Ukrainian armed forces,” he added.
Negotiations between Ukraine, the EU and the US last week yielded “the necessary results”, Kuleba assured.
The United States, NATO, the European Union and many Western countries have expressed strong concern in recent weeks over the movement of Russian troops around Ukraine.
A more recent example is British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who warned Moscow on Wednesday against the “tragic mistake” that would be any “military adventure” on the Ukrainian-Polish border, which would cost Russia dearly.
The situation in the region is tense after the annexation in 2014 of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea by Russia. After all, a war has been raging in eastern Ukraine for seven years with pro-Russian, separatist guerrillas.
Fearing a further escalation of the situation, Westerners are reluctant to sell weapons in Kiev. The Ukrainians eventually managed to acquire some defense systems, mainly American Javelin anti-tank missiles.
The Turkey-Ukraine flirtation is evolving
At the same time, Ukraine will buy another batch of Turkish drones that will strengthen its armed forces next year, the country’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Friday, according to Reuters quoted by Interfax Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Erdogan and said bilateral relations had made the armies stronger.
He also stressed that Turkish drones are being used for defense purposes on the eastern front with pro-Russian separatists, adding that his country is complying with de-escalation agreements in the region.
Russia, through its Presidency Representative Dmitry Peshkov, had accused Ukraine a few days ago of provoking tension and aggressive use of Bayraktar TB2, expressing fears that it would destabilize the situation on the eastern Ukrainian front.
Two months ago the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Turkish company Bayraktar Savunma signed a memorandum on the construction of a training center in the Kiev region for the service of Turkish unmanned Bayraktar aircraft and the training of personnel who will undertake their operation.
“This is a real big step forward. I am grateful to President Erdogan. This is a real support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence,” Zelensky was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the presidency.
Petros Kranias
* Erdogan’s son-in-law delivers first Bayraktar drone to Ukrainian Navy
* Turkey continues “flirting” with Ukraine: Warning from Russia
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Source From: Capital
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