RIYADH/JEDDAH: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed “terrorist” Iran for helping Russian assaults in opposition to his nation’s crucial infrastructure and urged US leaders to behave, or threat emboldening Tehran in opposition to American allies.
“Russia discovered an ally on this genocidal coverage — Iran,” Zelensky informed a packed joint-session of the US Congress on Wednesday. “Iranian lethal drones despatched to Russia within the a whole bunch turned a menace to our crucial infrastructure. That’s how one terrorist has discovered the opposite.”
Western officers have mentioned that Iran had equipped Russia with drones used to focus on Ukrainian vitality infrastructure. The assaults have left tens of millions of Ukrainians with out warmth or operating water.
“It’s only a matter of time earlier than they strike in opposition to one in all your allies,” mentioned the Ukrainian president, telling lawmakers to take motion to forestall that situation from occurring.
Iran-backed entities have for years attacked the US and its allies, together with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, in actions which have drawn worldwide rebuke.
Yemen’s Houthi militia, who’re supported by Tehran, have launched missiles into the Kingdom which have killed civilians and broken infrastructure, together with oil refineries and civilian airports.
The US will provide Ukraine with the highly effective Patriot missile protection system as a part of a $1.85 billion army help bundle within the battle with Russia.
The help features a $1 billion drawdown to supply Ukraine with “expanded air protection and precision-strike capabilities” and a further $850 million in safety help, Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned on Wednesday.
The bundle got here as Zelensky arrived in Washington to fulfill President Joe Biden and search “weapons, weapons and extra weapons” in his first abroad journey since Russia invaded in February.
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Russian President Vladimir says there aren’t any monetary limits on what the federal government would supply for the military, however army chiefs should study from and repair the issues they’d skilled in Ukraine.
Zelensky mentioned the go to was supposed to strengthen Ukraine’s “resilience and protection capabilities” amid repeated Russian missile and drone assaults on the nation’s vitality and water provides.
Biden mentioned on Wednesday at a White Home information convention with Zelensky that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no intention of ending “this merciless battle.”
He mentioned US shares the identical imaginative and prescient of a “free, impartial, affluent and safe Ukraine.”
Biden mentioned that when Zelensky is able to negotiate a settlement with Moscow, he’ll “have the ability to succeed as nicely as a result of he would have received on the battlefield.”
Zelensky mentioned {that a} “simply peace” with Russia means no compromises on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Zelensky’s political adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, mentioned the go to “places an finish to the makes an attempt by the Russian facet … to show an allegedly rising cooling in our relationships. Weapons, weapons and extra weapons — it is very important personally clarify why we’d like sure sorts of weapons. Particularly, armored autos, the most recent missile protection programs and long-range missiles.”
White Home spokesman John Kirby mentioned: “Clearly we’re going to guarantee that President Zelensky, when he leaves this nation, is aware of that he’s leaving with the complete assist of the US.”
In the meantime, Russian President Vladimir Putin was defiant on Wednesday at an end-of-year assembly of protection chiefs, at which he mentioned Russian forces have been preventing like heroes in Ukraine, can be geared up with fashionable weapons, and would obtain all Moscow’s objectives.
Russia has suffered a string of battlefield defeats because the summer season amid widespread reviews of disorganization, poor coaching and shoddy gear.
Putin mentioned there have been no monetary limits on what the federal government would supply for the military, however army chiefs needed to study from and repair the issues they’d skilled in Ukraine.
He backed a plan by his protection minister to spice up the dimensions of the armed forces by greater than 30 % to 1.5 million fight troops. A call-up of 300,000 reservists in September was plagued with issues, with many males bodily unfit or too previous and missing fundamental gear.
Putin mentioned he thought of Ukrainians to be a “brotherly” folks, and blamed the battle on “third international locations searching for the disintegration of the Russian world.” The West has rejected this as nonsense, and says the Russian invasion of Ukraine is an imperial-style land seize.
— With enter from Reuters
