Michel defends in kyiv the "determination" of the EU to help Ukraine militarily: "You need tanks"

BRUSSELS, 19 Ene. (EUROPE PRESS -

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, has defended this Thursday, during a visit to Ukraine, the European Union's military support for the country in the midst of Russian military aggression, pointing out that at this moment what the Ukrainian Army needs are tanks.

In a speech before the Ukrainian Rada, Michel has assured that the Twenty-seven are "determined" to help Ukraine to win the war on the battlefield. "Three days after the invasion, we formally decided to provide, for the first time in the history of the EU, lethal equipment to a third country", he recalled.

"Weapons and ammunition had already begun to arrive in Ukraine and so far, we have mobilized a total of 11,000 million euros in military support," he stressed before the Ukrainian parliamentarians.

On this point, the President of the European Council has recognized that the coming weeks and months "will be decisive" in the military contest. "You need more. More anti-aircraft defense systems, more long-range missiles and ammunition and, above all, you need tanks. Right now," he stated, in the midst of a debate on sending battle tanks to Ukraine, which kyiv is demanding to continue fighting against Russia in the Donbas region.

These statements come a day before the meeting at the Ramstein military base, Germany, of the Contact Group for Ukraine led by the United States and which will be the occasion to confirm more military support for kyiv.

In this regard, the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, at a joint press conference, expressed optimism about the possibility of receiving reinforced military support from the 40 countries that are part of the coalition supporting kyiv.

The president has said he has "positive expectations" about the meeting and has indicated that the future of the war depends on decisions taken in forums such as Ramstein this Friday.

Both leaders have discussed how to continue the pressure on Moscow with the application of new sanctions. On this, the former Belgian prime minister has declared that the ninth round of sanctions "is not the end" and has insisted on coordination work with Africa, Asia, China and Latin America so that they support Ukraine.

Zelensky for his part has directly targeted the Russian nuclear industry and those sectors and organizations that help develop missiles for the Russian Army. "I think that the tenth package of sanctions will be more effective than the previous ones, it is time to sanction the nuclear sector," he stated.