(NewsSpace.com) – The Russo-Ukraine war is in its third year, now, and there’s no end in sight. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been relentless in his pursuit of claiming more land, and his troops have been relentless in the past few weeks. Couple that with delayed aid from the West, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pleading for help.
Zelenskyy sat down with The New York Times on Monday, May 20, and discussed the war and what he needs from the West. He seemed bewildered and a bit frustrated that the countries haven’t taken the necessary steps to provide his country with the equipment he needs to inflict real damage on Russia. Zelenskyy also spoke about some of the things he’d like to see the West do.
One of those steps, the Ukrainian president said, would be for NATO to shoot down Russian missiles over his country’s airspace. Zelenskyy questioned why that would be an issue. He acknowledged that it would be a defense maneuver, but noted that involving NATO countries in the conflict didn’t have to mean “shooting down Russian planes and killing Russian pilots.” Rather, he said, “Shoot down what’s in the sky over Ukraine,” comparing the actions to what the United States recently did for Israel when it came under a barrage of attacks.
The White House addressed that statement, saying it wasn’t a fair comparison and involved “different conflicts, different airspace, different threat picture.” Zelenskyy also asked for “weapons to use against Russian forces on the borders,” including Patriot systems. So far, the West has refused to provide long-range missiles due to concerns that Ukraine would use them to strike Russia’s interior and escalate the war.
The Ukrainian president said he wasn’t against ceasefire negotiations but didn’t want them to involve Russia, but rather other nations rallying behind his country to come to a peace agreement. Of particular note, the war has kept Zelenskyy in power. His term recently ended, but March elections were delayed because of the conflict and martial law powers are keeping him in the leadership role.
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