We’re talking about two weeks.
Two weeks to flatten the curve of death.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Ukraine can defeat Russia by the end of this year with western help, and thanked Germany during a visit to Berlin for its “big” military and economic support.
Speaking after a meeting with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, the Ukrainian president said Germany was the second biggest contributor to Kyiv after the US. Scholz’s coalition government announced a new aid package to coincide with Zelenskiy’s visit, his first to Berlin since last year’s full-scale Russian invasion.
The latest tranche includes more Leopard battle tanks, armoured infantry fighting vehicles and four new air-defence systems. Asked whether Kyiv now had sufficient weapons to launch its long-awaited counteroffensive, Zelenskiy joked: “It will take one more foreign trip. Then it’s enough.”
With Ukrainian troops advancing more than 10 miles this week around the city of Bakhmut, Zelenskiy said victory was entirely possible. “We can make the aggressor’s defeat irreversible already this year,” he said, lauding Germany as a “true friend and reliable ally”.
On Sunday, Zelenskiy had dinner with president Emmanuel Macron in Paris, where Macron pledged additional military aid for Ukraine, including light tanks, armoured vehicles, training for soldiers and other assistance.
“Paris. With each visit, Ukraine’s defense and offensive capabilities are expanding,” he tweeted as he arrived at Villacoublay airbase southwest of Paris.
“The ties with Europe are getting stronger, and the pressure on Russia is growing.”
The world is finding out just how truly charming this man is.