President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says country cannot afford the \u2018weakness\u2019 of citizens letting their guard down
\n Kyiv
\nVolodymyr Zelenskyy has warned Ukrainian citizens against complacency in the face of an expected Russian offensive and called on western allies to speed up their assistance to Kyiv.
\nThe Ukrainian president said he saw signs that in some cities, people were letting their guard down despite ongoing hostilities, a \u201cweakness\u201d his country could not afford. Compared to the start of the war, when \u201cthe spirit was stronger\u201d, Zelenskyy said, \u201cnow I see in some cities that they are at rest.\u201d
\n\u201cEveryone needs to understand we are at war \u2014 it\u2019s not over,\u201d he said in a press conference after a summit with top EU officials on Friday. \u201cThe resilience of all of our guys depends on both weapons and motivation. Motivation is given not only by the partners, it can be inspired by the spirit from within the country.\u201d
\nUkraine is bracing for an intensification of hostilities as Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion nears its first anniversary on February 24. Ukrainian forces are under particular pressure in the eastern city of Bakhmut, where President Vladimir Putin is seeking a first significant battlefield victory since early last summer. Zelenskyy on Friday insisted he would not back down in Bakhmut, calling the city a \u201cfortress\u201d.
\nHe urged his European partners to boost their support for the country, including by imposing sanctions on senior managers of Rosatom, the Russian nuclear company, citing alleged atrocities committed at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
\nZelenskyy called on the EU to accelerate the process towards Ukrainian accession, which has been a repeated theme during the talks with Brussels officials on Thursday and Friday.
\nHe said Ukraine\u2019s forces had a chance to fight back against a Russian offensive if allies supplied the right weapons.
\nThe US on Friday was expected to announce it would send long-range smart bombs to Ukraine. But Washington is resisting Kyiv\u2019s pleas for the Army Tactical Missile System, which has an even longer range of 185 miles, for fear it could draw Nato into direct conflict with Russia.
\nIn Berlin, the German government on Friday said it approved the export of older Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine, days after it announced it would send the more advanced Leopard 2 model and allow other European countries to send theirs. But getting those tanks on the ground will take several months.
\nNorway on Friday said it would buy 54 new Leopard tanks with an option for 18 more, while giving no details on how many of its 40-year-old tanks it could give to Ukraine. The centre-left government in Oslo is purchasing the tanks against the advice of its own head of the armed forces, who recommended strengthening air defences instead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says country cannot afford the \u2018weakness\u2019 of citizens letting their guard down Kyiv Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned Ukrainian citizens against complacency in the face of an expected Russian offensive and called on western allies to speed up their assistance to Kyiv. The Ukrainian president said he saw signs that in some cities, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311805,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-311777","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n