TALLINNEstonia (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday ruled out a ceasefire in his country’s war with Russia, saying Kremlin forces would use the pause to rearm and regroup before overwhelming troops. from Kiev.
“A pause on the Ukrainian battlefield will not mean a pause in the war,” Zelenskyy said during a visit to Estonia.
“A pause would favor (Russia),” he said. “It could crush us later.”
Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, limited truces have been proposed on several occasions, although they have never materialized.
The two sides are trying to replenish their arsenals after 22 months of fighting and with the prospect of a prolonged conflict. The nearly 1,500 kilometers (630 miles) of the front remain virtually motionless during frigid winter weather, and both require artillery shells, missiles and drones that enable long-range strikes.
Zelenskyy noted that Moscow is allegedly purchasing North Korean artillery shells and missiles and Iranian drones.
The president was in the Estonian capital on a tour of the small Baltic states, which have been among Ukraine’s staunchest allies in the war.
Ukraine’s president is pressing his allies to provide more support to his country, which has already received billions of dollars in military aid from its Western allies.
“Ukraine needs more, it needs better weapons,” Estonian President Alar Karis said during a joint news conference with Zelensky at the presidential palace.
“We must boost military production capacity so that Ukraine receives what it needs,” he said. “And it’s not tomorrow, they must receive it today.”
Karis noted that so far, EU countries have provided 85 billion euros ($93 billion) in aid to Ukraine.
But the flow of aid has slowed, alarming Ukrainians who would have trouble defending themselves against their larger rival.
A U.S. government plan to send billions of dollars in more aid to Kiev has stalled in Congress, and Europe’s March pledge to send a million artillery shells within 12 months has fallen short of expectations. with only about 300,000 projectiles delivered for now.
Zelensky said Ukraine in particular needs anti-aircraft systems to repel Russian air offensives, which have repeatedly hit civilian areas although Russian authorities insist they only attack military targets.
Massive Russian attacks—more than 500 drones and missiles were launched between December 29 and January 2, according to authorities in Kiev—are depleting Ukrainian arsenals. The escalation tests Ukrainian air defenses and leaves the country vulnerable if it cannot secure more supplies.
Zelenskyy received promises of more support from Lithuania on Wednesday, and was heading to Latvia after Estonia.
The three small countries in eastern Europe are among Ukraine’s main political, financial and military allies. Some people in the Baltic fear that they could be Moscow’s next target.
The three countries were taken and annexed by Josef Stalin during World War II and regained independence during the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991. They joined NATO in 2004 and were placed under the military protection of the United States and its allies. Westerners.
A Russian S-300 missile hit a hotel in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, on Wednesday night, wounding 13 people, including a Turkish journalist, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov. The city has suffered attacks for four consecutive nights, the governor added.
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