Ukraine tells NATO summit request for military assistance has gone unanswered

By Ruslan Rehimov

KYIV, Ukraine (AA) - The president of Ukraine said Thursday that his requests for military assistance from NATO have gone unanswered.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address to a NATO summit that he does not hold the alliance responsible for what happened.

"NATO can still prevent Ukrainians from dying in Russian attacks. Give us all the weapons we need," he said.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine is not a member of NATO and the country fell into a grey area between the West and Russia but despite that, it has been fighting for the values of the West for one month.

The president underlined that for a month under the eyes of the world, a peaceful country and all global security have been destroyed by Russia, which has invested in military technologies and military manpower for decades.

He said the Russian army launched more than 1,000 missiles into Ukraine in the last month.

And on Feb. 24, when Russia first attacked, he said he had asked NATO to close Ukraine's airspace.

"We did not get a clear answer from you. Ukraine does not have strong weapons against missiles.”

This is the scariest thing during a war, not to have clear answers to requests for help, he said.

Zelenskyy warned that Russia will not be content with Ukraine but will also go toward Poland and Baltic countries, which are the eastern members of NATO.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which began Feb. 24, has met international outrage, with the EU, US, and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 977 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 1,594 injured, according to UN estimates, while cautioning that the true figure is likely far higher.

More than 3.6 million Ukrainians have also fled to neighboring countries, according to the UN refugee agency.