Ukraine will be able to stop Russian offensive after receiving new shipment of weapons: Zelenskyy

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday said that his country will be able to stop Russia’s current offensive in the east after it receives the new shipment of weapons provided by the West.

“With an increase in arms supplies, we will be able to stop them (Russia) in the east. They have the initiative there now. It's not a secret. We need to stop them and take the initiative into our own hands. This can only be done when you have something strong in your hands,” Zelenskyy said in a joint news conference with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Kyiv.

Expressing that Kyiv will be able to stop Russia’s initiative on the front line in eastern Ukraine as soon as it receives arms deliveries, which he said are currently not at the level they were expecting, Zelenskyy said Moscow has increased their troops in the north and east of the country.

Last month, US President Joe Biden signed a $60.8 billion aid bill to Ukraine into law as the country continues to fight off Moscow’s advances amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war that began in February 2022.

Zelenskyy also touched on the upcoming Global Peace Summit in Switzerland in June, saying that the summit is important because if international law and the world majority will work for Ukraine, they will be able to work for the restoration of peace for “all.”

“That is why (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is trying to disrupt it - he will do it by trying to increase the pressure on the front, to start new offensive actions, and by various manipulations in politics, and by attempts to split the international community,” he said.

He went on to say Putin is “really afraid” of the summit and the possibility that the world majority will start forcing Russia to make peace.

“That is why we need an absolutely clear position of each state, each leader, each international organization regarding participation in the Peace Summit, regarding support for our joint peace-building efforts,” he added.

Last week, the Swiss Foreign Ministry announced that it will organize a summit on Ukraine on June 15-16 at the Burgenstock resort in the canton of Nidwalden outside the city of Lucerne, for which it has invited over 160 delegations from around the world.

The summit will include discussions on Zelenskyy's 10-point formula that was laid out at the 2022 G20 summit in Indonesia, with its final step being the signing of a peace accord. It also focuses on issues such as nuclear safety and food and energy security.