Zelenskyy’s European tour aimed at replenishing country’s arsenal

LONDON (AP):

Volodymyr Zelenskyy set off across Europe with a long shopping list. Ukraine’s president will head home with much of what he wanted – though not the Western fighter jets he seeks to defend against Russian air attacks.

European leaders promised Zelenskyy an arsenal of missiles, tanks, and drones during a whirlwind three-day visit to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France, and the UK that sought to replenish Ukraine’s depleted weapons supplies ahead of a long-anticipated spring offensive aimed at turning the tide of the war.

The trip was also about shoring up European political and military support for the longer term to ensure that Ukraine can hold any ground it takes back and press for a favourable peace.

“They’ve got to show … they’re in this conflict for the long term and that they’re able to keep sustaining this effort,” said Justin Crump, a former British tank commander who heads security consultancy Sibylline. “It’s not going to be one shot and done.”

Zelenskyy’s energetic international diplomacy over 15 months of war has persuaded Ukraine’s Western allies to send ever more powerful weapons, from German Leopard tanks to US Patriot missile systems and Storm Shadow cruise missiles from the UK.

Pressing his case to European leaders in person shows Zelenskyy’s growing confidence about travelling abroad. It is also an attempt to get his “ducks in a row” as Ukraine prepares a push to reclaim territory seized by Russia, said Patrick Bury, senior lecturer in security at the University of Bath.

Bury said that if Ukraine launches an offensive “and it doesn’t go well, there might be a drop-off in support and more pressure to negotiate. I think he’s just trying to bind in for as long as he possibly can as much support as he can from the West.”

On Monday, the UK pledged hundreds more air defense missiles as well as attack drones with a range of more than 200 kilometres (120 miles).

France, where Ukraine’s leader met President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, said it would supply Ukraine with dozens of light tanks and armored vehicles, along with unspecified air defense systems.

Zelenskyy also visited Germany for talks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose initial reluctance to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons was a source of frustration in Kyiv. Now, Germany has become one of the biggest arms suppliers to Ukraine, including battle tanks and the sophisticated IRIS-T SLM air-defense system.