Zelenskyy seeking more aid from Baltic nations on regional tour

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has begun a visit to the Baltic countries, arriving in Lithuania as his country seeks to bolster its air defences amid Russia’s intensified missile and drone onslaughts in the months-old war.

The focus of his two-day trip to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will be security concerns, Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel.

He will also discuss Ukraine’s hopes to join the European Union and NATO, as well as building partnerships in drone production and electronic warfare capacities.

On Wednesday, Zelenskyy thanked Lithuania for its military assistance and goodwill in the war so far.

“We know how tiring this long-running war is, and we are interested in Ukraine’s complete victory in it as soon as possible,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told reporters.

The small countries are among Ukraine’s staunchest political, financial and military supporters – some in the Baltics worry that they could be Moscow’s next target.

They have pushed Kyiv’s other Western allies to provide increasingly sophisticated weapons since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

“Democratic countries have done a lot to help Ukraine, but we need to do more together so that Ukraine wins and the aggressor loses,” Estonian President Alar Karis said in a statement.

“Then there is the hope that this will remain the last military aggression in Europe, where someone wants to dictate to their neighbour with missiles, drones and cannons what political choices can be made,” he added.

In his Telegram message, Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to the Baltic countries for their “uncompromising” support of Ukraine over the past 10 years, referring to 2014 when Russia’s aggression started with the illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula.

Russia’s recent escalation of missile and drone attacks is stretching Ukraine’s air defence resources, a Ukrainian air force official said on Tuesday – leaving the country vulnerable unless it can secure further weapons supplies.

Zelenskyy’s energetic international diplomacy during the war has been essential to maintain pressure on friendly countries to keep supplying Kyiv with billions of euros in weaponry, including German Leopard tanks, US Patriot missile systems and British Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

That support has tailed off recently, however. A plan by the administration of US President Joe Biden to send to Kyiv billions of dollars in further aid is stuck in Congress.

Europe’s pledge back in March to provide 1 million artillery shells within 12 months has fallen short, with only about 300,000 delivered so far.

Meanwhile, long-range strikes by the Kremlin’s forces have continued.

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, came under attack from Russian S-300 missiles late on Tuesday, said Mayor Ihor Terekhov.

The Russians hit an unoccupied summer camp on the northeastern city’s outskirts, he said on Telegram. Several buildings were damaged but no casualties were reported.

Ukraine is also keeping up its attempts to hit targets inside Russia.

The Russian Defence Ministry said its air defences downed a Ukrainian drone early on Wednesday over the Saratov region of southwestern Russia, on the Volga River.

Saratov Governor Roman Busargin said the drone was downed over the Engels district, which is home to Russia’s main strategic bomber base that has launched cruise missiles at Ukraine. He said there were no casualties or damage.