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Ukraine’s president has urged Western countries to rapidly increase the supply of arms to his war-torn country amid growing fears that the country’s second largest city could be captured in a Russian offensive.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his Western allies to send more air defence missiles to help protect Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, from an almost daily bombardment of Russian glide bombs.
The president spoke out at the same time that the British Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron warned the US lawmakers of the disastrous consequences of appeasing President Putin.
The Ukrainian leader said in a message on Telegram: “Kharkiv region is a very important area. We have to be prepared. And the Russians must see that we are ready to defend ourselves.”
In the video, which showed President Zelensky talking to troops and walking through trenches being constructed, he added: “Russian terrorists must see the reinforcement of the Kharkiv region.”
He also said earlier: “Kharkiv needs robust defence. There is a solution to Russia’s constant terror. We need air defence systems and missiles for them. The world has no right to remain indifferent while Russia deliberately destroys the city, day after day, and kills people in their homes.
Kharkiv is just 25 miles from the Russian border has been under almost constant attack for the last two years.
Western Intelligence chiefs believe the city, which has a population of 1.4m mainly Russian-speaking Ukrainians, could be a target for Russian forces in a potential offensive later this year.
Russia has bombarded Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, since it first invaded in February 2022, and has escalated its attacks in recent weeks.
Ukraine is struggling to protect its cities from incoming Russian missiles, drones and bombs amid shortages of crucial ammunition and air defence systems.
Meanwhile, Lord Cameron, the British Foreign Secretary, has warned against the “appeasement” of Vladimir Putin and Russia as he stepped up calls for the US to release billions of dollars of new military aid for Ukraine.
In a message aimed at Donald Trump and his Republican allies, the Foreign Secretary said a stalled US $60bn USD funding package could make the “decisive difference in getting Ukraine back on the front foot”.
Lord Cameron, who met presidential candidate Mr Trump for private talks during his trip to the US this week, insisted the only way to end the conflict was by backing Ukraine rather than allowing Russia to keep the territory it has occupied.
Mr Trump, who hopes to return to the White House following November’s US election, is reportedly ready to pressure Ukraine to cede Crimea and the Donbas border region as a price for peace with Russia.
But Lord Cameron told CNN during his visit to Washington DC: “Everyone wants to see an end to the killing and an end to the war. But you only get that by backing Ukraine, by showing strength. Peace comes through strength, not through appeasement and weakness.”
Asked about Mr Trump’s plan, which was first reported by The Washington Post, Lord Cameron added: “I don’t think we should be discussing those things right now; we should be discussing how do we get Ukraine back on the front foot?
“They’ve showed incredible bravery. They’ve showed that they can win against Putin, they’re not going to lose for lack of morale, they’re not going to lose for lack of ingenuity on the battlefield.
“The only way they can lose is if we don’t give them the support they deserve.”
Major General Charlie Herbert, a former British Army officer told NSN: “Cameron’s visit comes at a critical time. The outcome of the war in Ukraine hangs in the balance, and no one in Europe should underestimate the strategic impact of allowing Ukraine to lose. “The need to fund, arm and sustain Ukraine in defending against Russian aggression could not be more important to Europe and the UK. Quite simply we and the US must spend our way to victory. It’s a sad truism but our treasure, supported by Ukrainian blood, is the only way to defeat and subsequently deter Putin. First class statesmanship by the Foreign Secretary, exemplifying Britain’s class leading support for Ukraine.”
Since mid-February, Kharkiv has suffered from attacks almost daily, with Russian propagandists openly calling for Moscow’s forces to “erase Kharkiv from the face of the Earth” on national Russian TV.
In a massive missile assault on March 22, the Russians destroyed most of the city’s electrical substations and damaged the Zmiivska power plant. More than 150,000 Kharkiv residents lost their homes, Terekhov said in an interview with Ukrainian media. There are blackout schedules in the city, with residents going without power for 4-8 hours a day.
Russia launched most of the drones in the recent attacks from the Belgorod region that borders Ukraine. Ukrainian forces have responded with shelling and ground operations against Belgorod.
Independent Russian media website Meduza, based in Latvia, reported in March that Kharkiv might be a target of a Kremlin offensive planned for this summer, citing its individuals close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian Military Intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov said on Wednesday that the Kremlin is spreading fake news about the “offensive on Kharkiv” to sow panic in Ukraine.
