British PM Rishi Sunak visits Ukraine

British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak travelled to Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and confirmed a major new package of air defence for the war-torn country.

This is Sunak’s first visit to the region since he became prime minister and follows the footsteps of his predecessor Boris Johnson, who developed a personal friendship with its leader.

The £50 million package includes 125 anti-aircraft guns and technology to counter deadly Iranian-supplied drones, including dozens of radars and anti-drone electronic warfare capability. It follows more than 1,000 new anti-air missiles announced by the Defence Secretary earlier in November.

Earlier, Sunak used the G20 Summit in Bali to urge other world leaders to take a harder line against Russian aggression.

Sunak said, "Britain knows what it means to fight for freedom."We are with you all the way", he told President Zelensky in a tweet.

His pledge of continued support follows in the footsteps of both Johnson and Truss, when she was in Downing Street.

A Number-10 spokesperson said, "The Prime Minister is in Ukraine today for his first visit to Kyiv to meet President Zelensky and confirm continued UK support."

By the end of his time in office Johnson was much mocked amid claims he would use official phonecalls with the Ukranian leader to attempt to shore up his own popularity at home.

Sunak had condemned Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. He said the UK would continue to support Ukrainians in defending themselves against Russian action, and to help ensure Kyiv is in a position of strength when they decide the time is right for peace talks.

He told reporters travelling with him to Bali that the Russin leader Vladimir Putin had skipped the summit of world leaders.

"Russia is becoming a pariah state and he’s not there to take responsibility for what he’s doing," he said. "But I’m going to use the opportunity to put on the record my condemnation of what they’re doing.”

 

What is the reality of Zelensky being portrayed as nobler than Winston Churchill, saintlier than Mother Theresa?

Despite campaigning on a peace platform, Zelensky provoked war with Russia by a) enacting a major troop buildup in eastern Ukraine in February; b) increasing shelling of eastern Ukraine in violation of ceasefire agreements; and c) calling for the retaking from Russia of Crimea and city of Sevastopol, which houses the Russian Navy’s Black Sea fleet.

Before the Russian invasion, CIA reports linked Volodymyr Zelensky to an oligarch so dirty and so mired in significant corruption that the State Department banned him from entering the United States. Now CIA propaganda portrays Zelensky as nobler than Winston Churchill and saintlier than Mother Theresa.

In 2019, the CIA-run Radio Free Europe reported on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s connection to Ihor Kholomoisky, a Ukrainian oligarch whom the State Department banned from entering the US in March 2021 due to his significant corruption.

It is ironic that, since Ukraine’s war with Russia began over four months ago, Radio Free Europe along with the rest of the Western media has depicted Zelensky as something equivalent to a reincarnation of Winston Churchill and Mother Teresa, driving a campaign for his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize and inspiring a flamboyant musical tribute during the 2022 Grammy awards.

In January 2022, the US Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint —the fourth against him—which alleged that Kholomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov, who owned PrivatBank, one of the largest banks in Ukraine, embezzled and defrauded the bank of US$5.5 billion which went missing.

The two allegedly obtained fraudulent loans and lines of credit from 2008 through 2016 and laundered portions of their criminal proceeds using an array of shell companies’ bank accounts, primarily at PrivatBank’s Cyprus branch, before they transferred the funds to the US where they continued to launder them illegally through an associate operating out of offices in Miami.

According to a profile in The American Spectator, Kholomoisky laundered millions in Cleveland, Ohio, and across the Midwest where, as one of the region’s biggest real-estate landlords. H e steered one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in world history.

Born in Soviet Ukraine in 1963, Kholomoisky was among those to benefit after the Soviet collapse in the early 1990s from the sale of formerly state-owned enterprises like steel plants and gas wells at fire-sale prices.

According to The American Spectator, Kholomoisky had two advantages over other nascent oligarchs. First, he had a background in metallurgy—in the science of making and molding metals and alloys in demand. Second, Kholomoisky displayed a ruthlessness that made even other oligarchs, no strangers to violent crime, blanch.

According to Oleg Noginsky, the president of the Suppliers Customs Union, after Ukraine’s February 2014 Euro-Maidan Revolution, Kholomoisky “hired the guys who carried out the Odessa massacre”— the killing of several dozen supporters of deposed Russian-allied President Viktor Yanukovych who were holed up in a trade union building.

As Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast from 2014 until 2016, Kholomoisky bankrolled anti-Russian units operating with the Ukrainian army in Donetsk and Luhansk—which voted to secede after the post-Maidan government tried to impose the Ukrainian language on them.

These units included the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion which terrorized the people of eastern Ukraine, along with the Dnipro and Aidar battalions, which were sometimes deployed as personal thug squads to protect Kholomoisky’s financial interests.

The New York Post reported that Kholomoisky had a controlling interest in Burisma Holdings—the Ukrainian energy company which employed Hunter Biden as a board member for US$50,000 per month. Russian media, quoted in State Department emails, referred to Burisma as part of Kholomoisky’s financial empire.

Six months after Hunter Biden departed, Burisma appointed Cofer Black to its board—a position that he maintains. Black was a career CIA officer who served as Director of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center following the September 11 attacks.

This appointment raises questions as to whether Burisma served as a CIA-front operation that was designed to help finance the anti-Russia militias in eastern Ukraine.

Kholomoisky’s relationship with Zelensky goes back to around 2012, when Zelensky and his partners in a television production company, Kvartal 95, began making regular content for TV stations owned by Kholomoisky.

A comedian and actor who had been famous since the 2000s, Zelensky began his political rise a few years after taking on a starring role in the political satire “Servant of the People,” which began airing on Kholomoisky’s network in 2015.

The show starred Zelensky as a humble history teacher whose anti-corruption rant in class is filmed by a student, goes viral online, and wins him national office.

In a case of life imitating art, Zelensky ended up winning the real-world Ukrainian presidency just three-and-a-half years after the show’s launch, with more than 73% of the vote.

Zelensky capitalized on widespread public anger at corruption, but his 2019 campaign was dogged by doubts over his anti-graft bona fides given his connection to Kholomoisky.

In the heat of the campaign, an ally of incumbent Petro Poroshenko, Volodymyr Ariev, published a chart on Facebook purporting to show that Zelensky and his television production partners were beneficiaries of a web of offshore firms, which they had set up beginning in 2012 that allegedly received US$41 million in funds from Kholomoisky’s Privatbank.

Ariev did not provide smoking-gun evidence, though the Pandora Papers—11.9 million leaked documents published by a consortium of investigative journalists in October 2021—show that at least some of the details in this alleged scheme correspond to reality.

In specific, the Pandora Papers reveal information on ten companies in the network that match structures detailed in Ariev’s chart, and show that Zelensky and his partners used companies based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Belize and Cyprus.

Forbes magazine currently places Zelensky’s net worth at between US$20 and US$30 million—a total he could not have earned simply as a TV performer and comedian.

Zelensky allegedly owns lavish properties in central London, Italy and Miami Beach—to which he could retire if he is forced to flee Ukraine.

Two of Zelensky’s associates in the offshore network, who were also part of his TV production company, have held powerful positions in his government. Serhiy Shefir is Zelensky’s top presidential aide, while Ivan Bakanov headed until very recently the feared Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which is Europe’s largest security agency and nearly the same size as the FBI despite Ukraine being 16 times smaller than the United States.

Besides providing financial support during Ukraine’s 2019 election, Kholomoisky supplied Zelensky with a car and lent his personal lawyer to him to be campaign adviser and promoted his candidacy on various media outlets that he owned.

The close ties between the two were apparent in 2018 when Zelensky traveled to Geneva Switzerland, for Kholomoisky’s birthday, and then afterwards back to Geneva another ten times.

When Kholomoisky moved to Tel Aviv, Israel, Zelensky traveled there to visit with him three times, according to Radio Free Europe.

Zelensky claimed that his relationship with Kholomoisky was not political; rather he had gone to visit him because of TV work.

However, Zelensky made sure to reward him when he became president. He removed Kholomoisky’s opponents, the Prosecutor General, the Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, and his own prime minister, who tried to regulate Kholomoisky’s control of a state-owned electricity company.

Ukraine’s parliament also passed a measure that prevented Kholomoisky from having to pay higher taxes on his mining operations.

Zelensky’s long-standing ties to Kholomoisky belie the pristine public image of a man hailed by US politicians as a “lion of a leader” and person of “incredible bravery”.

A neoliberal who advanced a sweeping privatization initiative, Zelensky has banned eleven opposition parties and carried out a reign of terror against political opponents.

The victims include the former leader of the Ukrainian left forces, Vasily Volga, and the Kononovich brothers, leaders of Ukraine’s Young Communist League who were accused of being pro-Russian.

Despite campaigning on a peace platform, Zelensky provoked war with Russia by a) enacting a major troop buildup in eastern Ukraine in February; b) increasing shelling of eastern Ukraine in violation of ceasefire agreements; and c) calling for the retaking from Russia of Crimea and city of Sevastopol, which houses the Russian Navy’s Black Sea fleet.

Map showing Ukrainian troop concentrations on eastern Ukraine’s border on eve of the Russian invasion of February 24, 2022. According to the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Ukraine had massed 122,000 troops on the border with Donbass. The Duma furthermore has claimed to have intelligence indicating that these troops were planning an offensive into Donbas, which the Russian invasion preempted.

Since the fighting began, Zelensky has eschewed negotiations and instead begged the West for more and more weapons while inviting foreign mercenaries into Ukraine.

Swiss journalist Guy Mettan has written that Zelensky will ultimately be held responsible for Ukraine’s devastation in the war as he preferred the ruin of his country to a timely compromise.

This assessment is at odds with the current media hagiography of Zelensky, which also obscures his ties to Kholomoisky that the CIA itself has acknowledged.

Journalist John Helmer points out that Hillary Clinton, Victoria Nuland and Christine LaGarde, the former IMF Directors, ignored the evidence of Kholomoisky’s corruption and the squandering of IMF loan money in a ponzi scheme; probably because of the political imperative underlying the IMF’s policy towards Ukraine after the Maidan coup.

Putin’s Most Difficult Demands

According to The Epoch Times, Russian President, Vladimir Putin has laid out several demands for Ukraine including two ‘most difficult issues’ during a phone call with Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan.

The demands can be divided into two parts; Turkish presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin told several media outlets. 

The first four articles appear to be possible common ground for both sides.

“Basically, there are six topics:

The first is Ukraine’s neutrality, that is, its withdrawal from NATO membership.

Second, disarmament and mutual security guarantees in the context of the Austrian model.

Third, is the process that the Russian side refers to as ‘de-Nazification.’

Fourth, removing obstacles to the widespread use of Russian in Ukraine,

Some progress has been made in the above four topics. However, it’s too early to say there is potentially a full agreement that could be reached because there are two other “most difficult issues.”

Putin put forward two territory-related demands.

Putin would require Ukraine to recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and admit the independence of the Donbas, a disputed region in southeastern Ukraine.

Putin recognized the independence of Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic, two separatist territories in the Donbas, days before he ordered a full invasion of Ukraine.

Putin reportedly told Erdogan he would hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky personally about the territory-related issues if the two sides reached common ground on the first four areas.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Ukrainian government and the Russian government for comments.

Zelensky has been asking Putin to talk with him directly after the war broke out. He proposed again on Saturday that the disputes between Russia and Ukraine be solved through meaningful talks.

“Negotiations on peace, on security for us, for Ukraine—meaningful, fair, and without delay—are the only chance for Russia to reduce the damage from its own mistakes,” he said in a statement.

He also warned that the war would cause huge losses to Russia if the two sides don’t reach a timely end to the war.

“Otherwise, Russia’s losses will be so huge that several generations will not be enough to rebound,” he said.

Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, after the efforts to deter war failed.

The United Nations said that, as of March 19, they had recorded 847 deaths and 1,399 injuries of civilians in Ukraine because of Russia’s military action against Ukraine, mostly caused by shelling and airstrikes.

However, the U.N. believes that the actual figures are considerably higher.

Over 3.3 million people have fled Ukraine since the war began, United Nations data show.

 

Five takeaways from Zelensky virtual address to US Congress

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky brought a moment of enormous drama to Washington Wednesday, when he gave a virtual address to Congress. Dressed in his trademark military-green t-shirt, pleaded for help as his nation tries to fend off the Russian forces who invaded three weeks ago. 

His speech was relatively brief, lasting around 15 minutes, but carried hefty emotional force. Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation at its beginning and at its conclusion.

Here are the major takeaways:

 Sticks with no-fly zone

The Ukrainian president is not budging from his demands for the imposition of a "no-fly" zone. It’s an uncomfortable request, not just for President Biden but for American lawmakers in general.

Sympathy for the plight of Ukraine is widespread but so too is wariness about getting sucked into a wider conflict. Such an outcome would seem almost unavoidable if a no-fly zone were imposed since, by its nature, it would require US warplanes to be willing to shoot down their Russian counterparts.

Zelensky, with his life and his country on the line, doesn’t see it that way.

“Is this a lot to ask for, to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people? Is this too much to ask for?” he demanded.

There seems little chance of him changing Biden’s mind, or the consensus on Capitol Hill, on that particular issue.

Zelensky did suggest a slightly less emphatic option — the provision of warplanes and air defenses. Those ideas are the most likely to be at the center of US American political debate in the days to come.

The mere fact of the Ukrainian’s president address may have moved the needle in another way though. 

Biden was expected to announce another huge tranche of military aid — valued at around $800 million — just hours after Zelensky finished speaking.

Brings conflict to American public

Zelensky has done everything to try to bring the scale of the crisis home to western lawmakers, and the citizens who elect them. 

On Tuesday, he spoke to the Canadian Parliament, addressing that nation’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, simply Justin and asking lawmakers to imagine attacks on Toronto or Vancouver. 

Last week, addressing the British parliament, Zelensky invoked William Shakespeare and Winston Churchill.

Before Congress he reached for a litany of American references, from the attack on Pearl Harbor to Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

“In your history, you have pages that would enable you to understand Ukrainians,” Zelensky said.

If the US is to maintain sanctions, keep funneling aid, and perhaps get even more deeply involved in Ukraine, the American public need to stay engaged and be willing to pay a price of its own.

Zelensky’s remarks were as much a plea to the American people as to American politicians.

Criticizes Biden Administration

Republicans have become more critical of the Biden administration of late.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that the US president had been guilty of “hesitancy and weakness.” Sen. James Risch complained that aid to Ukraine had been “too little, too late, too slow.”

The administration counters that it is wary of “escalatory” measures that might embroil the US and its allies in a direct war with Russia — something which Biden has said would amount to “World War Three.”

Even as Zelensky paid tribute to Biden’s “sincere commitment” to defending his nation, and to democracy more generally, the Ukrainian president said enough to give an opening to the president’s more hawkish critics.

Zelensky’s push for warplanes was especially powerful and pointed, coming in the wake of an awkward episode in which the White House rebuffed Poland’s offer to send MiG-29 jets to Ukraine via a US military base in Germany. 

Referring to such planes, Zelensky said, “You know they exist. You have them, but they are on earth, not in the Ukrainian sky.”

Zelensky also argued that the US needed to show global leadership by supplying more aid. 

That suggestion carried the implication that the US would be seen as abdicating its role if it declined more direct assistance.

Calls for a new international body

One of the surprises in the speech was Zelensky’s call for a new international body. 

He suggested it should be called “U24” or “United for Peace” that would, in theory, act to stop conflicts immediately.

Whatever the desirability of such an idea, there is no real chance of it being created amid the current crisis, when there is plenty of other international activity going on. Biden is headed to Brussels next week for an extraordinary meeting of NATO members. He will also meet European Union while overseas. 

But Zelensky’s proposal may have had another purpose — it distracted from any new scrutiny on the central issue of whether Ukraine could join NATO in the medium-term. 

The question is sure to be a pivotal one to the ongoing negotiations between Ukraine and Russia — and the idea of Ukrainian membership of NATO is abhorrent to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky offered a rhetorical concession on this point on Tuesday when he suggested Ukrainians had to accept that “we cannot enter” the alliance in the short term. 

On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged that “the reality of the situation” is that Ukraine will not be a member of NATO “anytime soon.”

Zelensky said nothing germane on the topic during his congressional address. 

Stuns lawmakers

Zelensky, a former comic actor and TV star, has gained the upper hand over his Russian adversaries in one area ever since the crisis began — communications.

He has pressed his nation’s case in formal addresses like Wednesday’s and also with frequent tweets and social media videos.

While his Wednesday speech was itself impressive, the most emotive moment came when Zelensky paused to show a video. 

The short film juxtaposed images of a happier, more relaxed Ukraine with scenes of appalling suffering, many of them involving child victims.

Some lawmakers were reportedly moved to tears by the video — and they won’t have been the only ones.

 

 

Zelensky a Thug and Ukrainian Government incredibly evil, says Madison Cawthorn

Republican Madison Cawthorn said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a thug and denigrated the Ukrainian government. Karl Rove, a Republican strategist, first mentioned Cawthorn made the remarks while speaking to a crowd in Asheville recently.

Other GOP lawmakers were quick to denounce Cawthorn’s statement, accusing him of favoring Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Like 90% of the country is with Ukrainians and is opposed to Putin,” said Lindsey Graham, who lately came under fire for calling for a Russian ‘Brutus’ to assassinate Putin. “So when you see a member of Congress say things like this, the one thing I want you to know, they are outliers.”

“To my colleague in the House, I would push back and say it’s not Ukraine that is invading Russia,” responded Joni Ernst. “It is Russia invading Ukraine.”

Two North Carolina Republicans hoping to defeat Cawthorn in the GOP primary later this year also took the opportunity to condemn Cawthorn’s remarks.

“Let’s be clear,” said Chuck Edwards on Twitter. “The thug is Vladimir Putin. We must unite as a nation to pray for President Zelensky and the brave people of Ukraine who are fighting for their lives and their freedom.”

“I do not understand how anyone in American public office could call Zelensky a ‘thug’ while Ukraine is under such vicious assault,” said Michele Woodhouse in a statement posted to her campaign website. “Conservatives in my district are terrified that we will lose this republican seat to a leftist Biden democrat if Cawthorn somehow wins the nomination.”

However, Cawthorn has made clear that he does not approve of Russia’s actions either.

“The actions of Putin and Russia are disgusting,” Cawthorn said on Twitter on March 10, the same day the footage was released. “But leaders, including Zelensky, should not push misinformation on America.”

“I am praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,” Cawthorn added. “Pray also we are not drawn into conflict based on foreign leaders pushing misinformation.”

Cawthorn is one of few GOP lawmakers to have criticized Ukraine, though a larger number of members of Congress, on both sides, have called for the United States not to send troops to Ukraine or impose a no-fly zone.

The proper US response to the Russian invasion has divided the old guard of the GOP—including figures like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Graham who have called for heavy US involvement in the conflict—from more populist-leaning newcomers like Cawthorn, Senate candidate J.D. Vance, and conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, who have demanded that the US stay out of the conflict.

In a statement to a news outlet, a spokesman for Cawthorn explained his position further.

“Cawthorn supports Ukraine and the Ukrainian President’s efforts to defend their country against Russian aggression, but does not want America drawn into another conflict through emotional manipulation,” the spokesman said.

 

Is this the preamble of World War III?

A look at the list of countries flooding lethal weapons of enormous magnitude into Ukraine creates jittery feelings as if these countries are getting ready to fight World War III. These arms should be called weapons of mass destruction (WMD), a term coined before attacking Iraq.  

Russia fired shots on Ukraine on February 24. Two days later President Volodymyr Zelensky shared a video saying he needs ammunition, not a ride, referring to the United States’ offer of asylum to the besieged head of state. Since then, 15 countries have sent military hardware to Ukraine.

The majority of arms and supplies from ally nations are being sent via Ukraine’s 310-mile border with Poland, which has become an important lifeline both for supplies and equipment, and refugees looking to flee the conflict.

Some border nations have chosen not to allow military equipment bound for Ukraine to pass through their territory out of fear of Russian retaliation.

On February 28, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said his country won’t allow deadly weapons to be transported through Hungary’s territory, while reiterating the government doesn’t want to be involved in the Russia-Ukraine war. Szijjarto cited security concerns for Hungarian citizens as one of the primary factors in the decision.

Despite supply chain and shipping challenges, millions of dollars of ordnance continue to flow into Ukraine from two continents.

United States

On February 26, US President Joe Biden authorized the State Department to send US$350 million in weapons to Ukraine. Among the list of hardware on the list are Javelin anti-tank weapons, anti-aircraft systems, ammunition, and body armor.

Regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, US Acting Permanent Representative Aud-Frances McKernan said, “The United States reaffirms its unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, extending to its territorial waters.”

McKernan then added, per Biden, neither the United States nor NATO has any desire or intention to engage in a conflict with Russia, clarifying that there is no threat to Moscow from either.

This is the third time Biden has used his presidential drawdown authority to send emergency security assistance, now totaling US$1 billion, from US reserves to Ukraine.

“It is another clear signal that the United States stands with the people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereign, courageous, and proud nation,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Canada

The Canadian government approved an additional US$25 million in military aid to Ukraine on February 27. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the country would send US$7.8 million worth of lethal equipment to the European nation during a press conference back on February 14 in anticipation of a Russian attack.

Regarding the initial shipment, Trudeau said, “The intent of this support from Canada and other partners is to deter further Russian aggression.”

Germany

Chancellor Olaf Sholz announced on February 26 that Germany would deliver 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles to our friends in Ukraine. Scholz said February 24 marked a watershed in the history of our continent, asserting that Russian President Vladimir Putin is jeopardizing the long-term security of Europe, which he said can’t be achieved in opposition to Russia.

Sweden

In a departure from its decades-long neutrality, the Swedish government approved the shipment of 5,000 anti-tank weapons, 135,000 field rations, 5,000 helmets, and 5,000 pieces of body armor. “My conclusion is now that our security is best served by us supporting Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russia,” Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said on February 28. She added this is the first time Sweden has sent weapons to a country at war since the Soviet Union attacked Finland in 1939.

France

On February 26, an army spokesperson said France would send defensive military equipment to Ukraine to aid in the resistance effort against Russia. President Emmanuel Macron said, “It’s not only the Ukrainian people who are bereaved by the war … it’s all the peoples of Europe.”

United Kingdom

Back on January 17, Secretary of Defense for the United Kingdom, Ben Wallace, said the UK would provide self-defense weapons and training to Ukraine amid the build-up of Russian troops near the border. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Parliament on February 23, “In light of the increasingly threatening behavior from Russia and in line with our previous support, the UK will shortly be providing a further package of military support to Ukraine.” He elaborated that the second military support package included both lethal and non-lethal aid.

Belgium

Responding to a direct request from Kyiv, the nation opted to send 2,000 machine guns to the Ukrainian army and 3,800 tons of fuel on February 26.

Netherlands

As of February 26, the Dutch government said it’s delivering 50 Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank weapons with 400 missiles to Ukraine to help with the resistance effort against Russia. Additionally, 200 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles were promised along with helmets, shard vests, and sniper rifles.

Czech Republic

Formerly occupied by Russian troops during the Soviet era, the Czech government sent 4,000 artillery shells worth US$1.7 million to Ukraine in January. The Czech Ministry of Defense released a statement on February 26 saying it will also ship machine guns, submachine guns, assault rifles, and pistols, together with ammunition at an estimated value of US$8.6 million.

Italy

Joining the growing list of countries providing military aid to Ukraine, on February 28, the Italian cabinet pledged to dispatch Stinger missiles, mortars, and Milan or Panzerfaust anti-tank weapons. Among the items included in the defense package are Browning heavy machine guns, MG-type light machine guns, and counter-IED systems.

Portugal

Upon request from Ukrainian officials, the Portuguese Ministry of Defense announced on February 26 that it will deliver military equipment including vests, night vision goggles, grenades, ammunition, complete portable radios, analog repeaters, and automatic G3 rifles.

Greece

The Balkan nation sent defense equipment and medical supplies on two C-130 aircraft from Athens on February 27 at the request of Ukrainian authorities.

Romania

Another former satellite state of the Soviet Union, Romanian government spokesman Dan Carbunaru said the country would ship ammunition and military equipment on February 27.

Spain

On March 02, Spanish Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, announced the nation will send defensive equipment to Ukraine. “In this first shipment that will go aboard two planes, we expect to send 1,370 anti-tank grenade launchers, 700,000 rifles, and machine-gun rounds, and light machine guns,” Robles said.

Finland

President Sauli Vainamo Niinisto decided to send an arms support package to Ukraine on February 28. The delivery will include 2,500 assault rifles, 150,000 cartridges, 1,500 single-shot anti-tank weapons, and 70,000 combat ration packages.

Zelensky testing limits of United States

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky participated in a call with a bipartisan group of more than 280 members of Congress on Saturday morning, during which the lawmakers said he laid out ways the United States could help his country's fight against Russia.

Over Zoom, Zelensky requested additional airplanes, a stoppage of oil purchases from Russia and the establishment of a no-fly zone over Ukrainian airspace. 

Both Democrats and Republicans lauded Zelensky after their virtual meeting and pledged to do what they could to assist Ukraine.

“Honored to hear from @ZelenskyyUa as he takes every measure to defend Ukraine from illegal Russian aggression and Putin’s indiscriminate attacks on civilians. Zelenskyy’s resilience and commitment to the people of Ukraine inspire the world. Proud to stand with you Mr. President,” the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tweeted.

Sen. Ben Sasse, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, confirmed in a statement that Zelensky had asked for either a no-fly zone over Ukrainian airspace or planes for Ukraine.  

“Ukraine needs airpower urgently and America should send it. Zelensky’s message is simple, ‘close the skies or give us planes.’ Let’s be clear-eyed about our options, a no-fly zone means sending American pilots into combat against Russian jets and air defenses — in a battle between nuclear powers that could spiral out of control quickly,” Sasse said. 

“But Americans should absolutely send Ukrainians planes, helicopters, and UAVs. Let’s resupply Ukraine’s Air Force today and keep the Ghosts of Kyiv in the skies.”

A no-fly zone is instituted to stop nations from carrying out attacks over groups of people or flying in certain areas. 

The Biden administration balked at declaring a no-fly zone over Ukraine, arguing that the move could easily escalate the Russia-Ukraine conflict into a wider war. 

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer also voiced support to supply Ukraine with planes. 

“President Zelenskyy made a desperate plea for Eastern European countries to provide Russian-made planes to Ukraine. These planes are very much needed. And I will do all I can to help the administration to facilitate their transfer,” he said in a statement.

Several senators also noted Zelensky asked for the United States to stop Russian oil and gas imports to further cripple the country's economy. Russia accounts for 10% of the crude oil global supply, the third-largest producer after the United States and Saudi Arabia. 

“President @ZelenskyyUa said stopping the purchase of Russian oil and gas around the world would be one of the most powerful sanctions possible, ‘even more powerful than SWIFT,’ ” Sen. Dan Sullivan tweeted.

“.@POTUS, enough is enough. Listen to this brave President and a growing bipartisan group of senators. Block imports of Russian oil and gas TODAY, and produce more oil and gas from America. #StandWithUkraine #BanRussianImports,” he added.

Sen. Chris Coons, chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, called on Congress to pass millions of dollars in humanitarian and economic aid for NATO and Ukraine.

Zelensky underscored the urgent need for more military support and humanitarian aid from his Western partners, Coons said in a statement. 

“This call to action must lead to swift passage by Congress of the US$10 billion in emergency supplemental aid that I have been calling for to give Ukraine and our NATO allies additional military, economic and humanitarian aid to respond to increasingly brutal Russian attacks on civilians and the rapidly growing humanitarian crisis in Eastern Europe,” he continued.

The call with the US lawmakers comes over a week after Russia invaded Ukraine. Ukrainian forces have fought fiercely against the Russian military, slowing its efforts to capture the country's major cities. 

Sen. Lindsey Graham said that Zelensky had detailed “numerous examples of war crimes” committed in Ukraine.

“There were numerous examples of war crimes provided by President Zelensky - mayors have been captured, imprisoned and murdered. There are wholesale attacks on civilian targets, random, indiscriminate, and the Putin war machine, in my view, is in full blown war crimes mode,” Graham said in a video message posted on Twitter after the call.

“President indicated that labeling Putin a war criminal is the right thing to do, and he thinks would help tremendously.”

The remarks come as roughly 1.3 million people have fled Ukraine since February 24, according to data from the United Nations refugee agency. The conflict has sparked some leaders to consider waiving travel requirements in order to handle the serious humanitarian crisis.