Ukraine must bolster military against Russia, president tells G7

By Gozde Bayar

ANKARA (AA) — Ukraine's president said Saturday that the country must strengthen its military might to protect its territory amid its ongoing war with Russia.

"You know very well all we need to keep our sky protected, to strengthen our military on the land, and you know all we need to sustain and continue our success in the sea, and you know perfectly well that we need all this in time. We count on you," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office quoted him as saying in an address to G7 leaders.

Zelenskyy thanked the leaders on behalf of his country for their vital support.

"Thanks to our cooperation, millions in Ukraine and in neighboring countries around Russia can feel that their homeland will not become (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's backyard," he said.

Asserting that the war Russia launched two years ago and "the horror brought by Russia still did not deprive Ukraine of a normal future," he said Ukraine has "stood against the strikes. We are reclaiming what belongs to us, and will certainly make the Putin system pay the proper price for every Russian evil."

Russia launched its "special military operation" on Ukraine exactly two years ago, on Feb. 24, 2022.