arsenal of democracy
Zelensky asks for '1 percent' of NATO's tanks and planes
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked NATO on Sunday to send Ukraine "1 percent" of the alliance's tanks and aircraft and said his country has "already been waiting 31 days" for this much-needed equipment, The New York Times reported.
According to The Associated Press, Zelensky also criticized the West for what he described as its indecisive "ping-pong about who and how should hand over jets."
Earlier this month, Poland offered to transfer 27 MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine via the American military. U.S. officials quickly rejected the plan, fearing that Poland's proposal risked drawing NATO into a direct conflict with Russian forces.
"I've talked to the defenders of Mariupol today. I'm in constant contact with them," Zelensky said. "If only those who have been thinking for 31 days on how to hand over dozens of jets and tanks had 1 percent of their courage."
Last week, Zelensky described Russia's bombardment of the encircled port city of Mariupol as "a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come." Mariupol is strategically located between the Donbas, which is controlled by Russian-backed separatists, and the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014, making the city a key objective for Russian forces.