Ukraine is facing a shortage of ammunition, with U.S. funding being blocked by Republicans in and E.U. failing to deliver sufficient munitions
The Foreign Ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) major powers have warned that Ukraine risked being defeated by Russia unless it received more air defences.
Ukraine has also urged a change in Western strategy towards the war. Ukraine is facing a shortage of ammunition, with vital funding from the United States (U.S.) being blocked by Republicans in Congress for months and the European Union (E.U.) failing to deliver sufficient munitions on time.
The warning was issued during the second day of the G7 Ministers Meeting on Foreign Affairs in Italy. The ministers started the day by discussing the ongoing Middle East crisis and the recent escalation after Iran attacked Israel. In the afternoon, they were joined by the Head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the Foreign Minister of Ukraine – Dmytro Kuleba as they discussed the Russia-Ukraine war.
The High Representative of the E.U. for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy – Josep Borrell Fontelles, urged the E.U. nations to hand over air defence systems to help Ukraine protect its cities from Russia, which is targeting key infrastructure.
Speaking on the occasion, Fontelles said, “Otherwise the electricity system of Ukraine will be destroyed. And no country can fight without having electricity at home, in the factories, online, for everything.”
Taking it to X, he tweeted,
The dire situation in #Ukraine & the #MiddleEast on top of our @G7 agenda
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) April 18, 2024
We need faster, concrete commitments to support Ukraine militarily
We need to stop the escalation in the Middle East, get to a ceasefire in Gaza & the liberation of all hostages, increase humanitarian aid pic.twitter.com/6kDIcWtQqI
Dmytro Kuleba said the West had a different attitude towards Israel than Ukraine, noting that when Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel on Saturday, the U.S., the United Kingdom (U.K.), France and Saudi Arabia helped deter the attacks.
Kuleba said, “The strategy of our partners in Israel seems to be in preventing damage and death. In the last months, the strategy of our partners in Ukraine seems to be in helping (us) to recover from damage.”
He further said, “So our job today is to find a way where our partners will design a mechanism, a way that will allow us also to avoid death and destruction in Ukraine.”
Kuleba said he hoped to get immediate pledges this week on the delivery of more Patriot and SAMP/T air defence systems and also new Western sanctions targeting Iran’s production of armed drones, which are being exported to Russia.
The Foreign Minister of Italy – Antonio Tajani, said the question of sanctions on Iran would be addressed as the West looked for ways to penalise Tehran for its missile attack on Israel, but also reiterated Western calls for Israel to show restraint.
Going ahead, Ukraine is eagerly waiting for the U.S. Congress to clear the U.S. $ 61 billion package
