Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for additional air defence systems to be sent to Kyiv to help protect against Russian strikes, adding that a pause in US funding had helped Moscow seize the initiative.His comments come just days after Congress emerged from a half-year of deadlock to approve a $61bn aid package for Ukraine.Yesterday the Pentagon announced that it will buy $6bn worth of new weapons for Ukraine including interceptors for the Patriot air defence system, the single largest assistance package President Joe Biden’s administration has provided (see report on Page 7).“This year, Russian jets (have) already used more than 9,000 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine and we need the ability to shoot down the air combat aircraft so that they do not approach our positions and borders,” Zelensky said at the start of a virtual meeting led by the United States on helping arm Ukraine.The first such meeting, known as the Ukraine Contact Group, was held two years ago.“While we were waiting for a decision on the American support, the Russian army managed to seize the initiative on the battlefield,” Zelensky said. “We can still now, not only stabilise the front, but also move forward achieving our Ukrainian goals in the war.”He also highlighted the stakes in the conflict, saying that Russian success could breed further aggression.“Predatory regimes like Russia’s are rapidly increasing their appetite for aggression. When they succeed in one part of the world, it creates problems in many other places. Aggression spreads when not stopped,” he said.After the meeting, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he would ask allies to accept more risk.“We’re going to ask (allies) to accept a little bit more risk so that we can do what’s necessary in Ukraine,” he told reporters.Austin said the Patriot missile defence system itself would not be a “silver bullet” for Kyiv, but rather integrating it with other missile defence systems.Spain’s defence minister said yesterday that Madrid would deliver Patriot anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, following pressure from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) and European Union allies to send more military aid to Kyiv.The new $6bn US weapons package announced will be purchased from defence contractors and not drawn from US stocks and delivery to Ukraine will take time, perhaps even years for some systems.The United States hopes its new deliveries of weaponry will help Ukraine rebuild defences and refit its forces as it recovers from a gap in US assistance, but it does not expect Kyiv to launch large-scale offensive operations against Russian forces in the near term.The influx of weapons could improve Kyiv’s chances of averting a major Russian breakthrough in the east, just over two years since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, military analysts say.However, it remains unclear how much pressure Kyiv can apply on Russia after months of rationing artillery as its stocks ran low.Kyiv also faces manpower shortages on the battlefield and questions linger over the strength of its fortifications along a sprawling, 1,000km (621-mile) front line.Kyiv clears hospitals over air strike fearsOfficials in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv announced yesterday the evacuation of two hospitals which they feared could be targeted by Russian strikes.“The city is urgently beginning to evacuate two hospitals because a video is being widely circulated online, de facto announcing an enemy attack on these medical facilities,” Kyiv’s city administration said.It referred to comments made by the head of the KGB in Moscow-allied Belarus, who said on national television that the buildings hosted military personnel “hiding behind sick children” – suggesting Russia could regard the facilities a legitimate military target.“This is an absolute lie and a provocation by the enemy, which it is trying to use to attack the social infrastructure of the capital,” the administration wrote on Telegram.Ivan Tertel, the head of the Belarusian KGB, provided the addresses of the two Kyiv hospitals where he said fighters were “hiding behind the backs of children”.“Without a doubt, all of them will suffer well-deserved punishment, even though they have chosen Kyiv hospitals as their lair,” he said in a speech broadcast by the state news agency Belta.Belarusian troops are not fighting in the war in Ukraine, but Minsk is a close ally of Moscow and Russian forces used Belarusian territory as a staging ground for their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.Kyiv’s city authorities said they were moving patients and staff from both hospitals to other medical facilities.AFP journalists on the scene saw around 10 ambulances waiting for patients to be evacuated.A child on a stretcher connected to medical equipment was placed in one of the vehicles, which left the scene.Some patients were leaving the hospital on their own.The head of Kyiv’s military administration, Sergiy Popko, said the evacuations were taken out of precaution.“So far, there is no evidence to suggest that Russia is actually going to launch such strikes. However, for us, the lives and health of our people and our children are the highest value,” he said.“We are doing our best to protect children, their parents, adult patients and staff from a possible attack on these medical institutions,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recorded at least 1,682 attacks against Ukraine’s healthcare system since the beginning of the war.These caused 128 deaths and 288 injuries, according to WHO statistics released in early April. – AFP/Reuters
