The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday condemned Iran's attack with missiles and drones against Israel in last night and announced that his country needs the help of its allies to repel the air attacks, just as it happened with Israel, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The head of state again called on the US Congress to give its delayed approval to the new package of military aid to Kiev. Reuters points out that Ukrainian troops are undergoing a new offensive by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, and cities and infrastructure are being attacked daily by Moscow with missiles and drones.
„Iranian actions threaten the entire region and the world, just as Russian actions carry the threat of a wider conflict. The apparent cooperation between the two regimes in the spread of terror must face a definite and unified response from the world, wrote yesterday on the social platform X. the Ukrainian president.
Later - in his traditional evening video address to the nation, Zelensky stated that the world had seen how "Israel is not alone in its defense - the allies also helped in deterring the air threat". "And when Ukraine says that allies cannot turn a blind eye to Russian missiles and drones, it means that it is imperative to act, and to act firmly,", he said, adding that Ukrainian skies " does not defend itself with words".
"The fact that we in Ukraine have been waiting for months for a vital aid package, the fact that we are still waiting for its vote in the US Congress, leads to another fact - that the self-confidence of terrorists is growing in these months," the president of Ukraine, stating that "there is no more time to lose".
The Speaker of the House of Representatives (lower house) in the US Congress, Mike Johnson, said yesterday that he will try to push through aid to Israel this week, in the context of the Iranian missile and drone attack on the night of April 14. However, he did not specify whether the Israel bill would include aid to Ukraine or other US allies in need.
Reuters recalls that Iran has delivered thousands of kamikaze drones "Shaheed" of Russia since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. They have been used extensively to wear out Ukrainian air defenses and strike infrastructure deep in Ukrainian territory, far from the front lines.
For months now, Zelensky has been calling on Ukraine's Western allies, especially the United States, to show "political will" and to supply Kiev with air defense systems and ammunition. The President announced yesterday that Germany will supply his country with US-made Patriot air defense systems. and air defense missiles "at a critical moment", notes Reuters.
The agency adds that on national television yesterday, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, said that negotiations are underway to supply Kiev with more "Patriot" systems, but indicated that he was somewhat embarrassed by the slow pace of their delivery.
"With all due respect and gratitude to the U.S., do you believe that the U.S. military does not have one redundant Patriot system that it can send to Ukraine?", he said, as quoted by Reuters.