Ukrainian FM warns West against 'dripping aid' to Kyiv
by AFP Staff Writers
Vilnius (AFP) March 8, 2024

Ukraine's foreign minister on Friday warned Western allies against the slow delivery of aid to Kyiv, saying timely transfers of military supplies would ensure the war "does not spill over".

"The strategy of dripping aid to Ukraine drop by drop doesn't work anymore," Dmytro Kuleba said during a visit to Lithuania.

"It's over and, if things continue as they currently happen, it's not going to end well for all of us," he added.

He called for an "unrestricted and timely supply of weapons and ammunition to ensure that Ukraine beats Russia".

"We have to accept as a new reality that the era of peace in Europe is over," he added in a news conference alongside his Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and French counterparts.

Lithuania's Foreign Affairs Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said Kyiv's allies "should draw red lines for Russia" rather than themselves when it came to helping Ukraine.

Those allies should "not exclude any form of support", Landsbergis added, echoing a sentiment recently expressed by France President Emmanuel Macron.

Last month, Macron went so far as to state that Ukraine's allies should not rule out sending troops to the country, speaking after recent battlefield gains by Russia.

France's European NATO allies and the United States all rejected such a move.

But French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne argued that the West could not run "the risk that Russia wins in Ukraine because the cost of such would be extraordinarily high for all of us.

"We know well that Russia will not stop there," he added.

Kuleba called for international training, as well as arms maintenance and production to be set up in Ukraine, arguing this would create a logistical advantage for his country.

"Cost efficiency, time efficiency and, most importantly, victory efficient way of doing things is to do things not only abroad but also in Ukraine," he said.

Kuleba also urged anyone doubting that the war could go beyond Ukraine's borders to "wake up, read history books.

"Weak decisions, more war, strong decisions, end of war. It's simple," he added.

"For how long will we continue to stumble over weak decisions in 2024?

"When Ukraine has everything it needs, we shoot down Russian planes, we liberate our territories, we sink Russian ships, we prevail," he said.

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