Ukraine Asks NATO: Send Planes, Weapons For Ukraine To Defeat Russia

Ukraine told residents of its industrial heartland to leave while they still can and urged Western nations to send “weapons, weapons, weapons” Thursday, April 7, 2022, after Russian forces withdrew from the outskirts of Kyiv to regroup for an offensive in the country’s east.

Photo Insert: The NATO special council on Russia

Russia’s six-week-old invasion failed to take Ukraine’s capital quickly and achieve what Western countries say was President Vladimir Putin’s initial aim of ousting the Ukrainian government. Russia’s focus is now on the Donbas, a mostly Russian-speaking region in eastern Ukraine, Adam Schreck and Andrea Rosa reported for the Associated Press (AP).

In Brussels, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged NATO to provide more weapons and help his war-torn country prevent further alleged atrocities like those reported in Kyiv’s northern outskirts.

Ukrainian authorities are working to identify hundreds of bodies found in Bucha and other towns after Russian troops withdrew and to document evidence of possible war crimes, Oleksandr Stashevskyi, Cara Anna, and Yuras Karmanau also reported for AP.

Asked what more his country was seeking, Kuleba listed planes, land-based missiles, armored vehicles, and air defense systems worth billions of US dollars.

“My agenda is very simple. ... it’s weapons, weapons, and weapons,” Kuleba said as he arrived at NATO headquarters for talks with the military organization’s foreign ministers.

“The more weapons we get and the sooner they arrive in Ukraine, the more human lives will be saved,” he added. "I think the deal that Ukraine is offering is fair. You give us weapons, we sacrifice our lives, and the war is contained in Ukraine," Reuters quoted Kuleba as saying.

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