Zelensky Asks G-7 for More Assistance Fighting Russia

President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. March 16, 2022. Photo courtesy of the office of the President of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to expel Russian forces from Ukraine before the harsh winter, and he asked G-7 leaders to lend him further assistance in doing so. The Wall Street Journal reports:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to Group of Seven leaders for more support from allies to push Russia out of newly conquered territories, according to officials present for the video address, as the U.S. said it would provide more military aid for Ukraine and impose new sanctions against Moscow to try to turn the tide of the war ahead of the winter months.

Mr. Zelensky told the G-7 leaders, who are meeting in the German Alps, that the harsh Ukrainian winter would make it more difficult for his troops to defend their positions and maintain supply lines to the front, which stretches over 2,000 kilometers, about 1,200 miles, from the north to the south of the country, officials said. Ukraine aims to push Russia back to the separation line before the February invasion, Mr. Zelensky said Monday, according to these officials.

Mr. Zelensky’s plea for additional help came on a day when Russian missiles hit a shopping mall in central Ukraine while Russia’s forces attempted to surround the last major city in the eastern Luhansk region that is still under Kyiv’s control.

At least 16 people were killed and around 59 injured in the attack on the mall in the city of Kremenchuk, according to Ukraine’s state rescue service. Mr. Zelensky said nearly 1,000 civilians had been inside but that many appeared to have managed to escape when an air-raid siren sounded before the missiles struck.

“This is one of the most brazen terrorist acts in the history of Europe,” Mr. Zelensky said in an address Monday. “Russia became the biggest terrorist organization in the world.”

Russia’s Ministry of Defense hasn’t commented on the attack. A senior Russian diplomat at the United Nations, Dmitry Polyanskiy, said on Twitter that the attack looked like a Ukrainian provocation, without providing any evidence.

In its campaign to halt Russia’s advance, Ukraine is expressing increased concern over the weather. The frozen ground would make it easier for the invading Russian forces to transport tanks, artillery and supplies, Mr. Zelensky told the G-7 leaders.

Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national-security adviser, declined to give specifics on how Mr. Zelensky characterized the expected difficulties of the war during the winter months but said the Ukrainians wanted to “push the pace” of the operations and assistance “as opposed to letting things just drag out indefinitely.”