Shmyhal says delays in the supply of long-range artillery and missile equipment are “the main danger for us on the battlefield.”
Ukraine needs long-range missiles and other munitions to repel Russian troops, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said, as the country approaches its third year of war amid battle losses and dwindling foreign aid.
During a visit to Japan on Tuesday, Shmyhal said Ukraine has modern equipment and trained soldiers and is fighting to NATO standards, but the country needs more long-range missiles for air defense against Russia on the front line.
“Unfortunately, they are now prevalent in the air and this brings with it some consequences on the front, but I must say that our partners do not refuse to supply military equipment to Ukraine,” he said.
Shmyhal's comments came as ammunition shortages and manpower limitations are causing Ukraine some serious losses on the battlefield.
On Sunday, Russian troops captured Avdiivka, a key city to access the Donbas industrial region, marking their biggest success since the fall of Bakhmut in May.
But support from Western powers has faced a pushback due to rising costs, while lawmakers in Washington continued to wrangle over a military aid package for kyiv.
If the $95 billion foreign aid package survives a vote in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, US media reports suggest President Joe Biden is considering including long-range ballistic missiles. These are longer-range weapons compared to the medium-range missiles sent so far by the United States. They would allow Ukraine to attack the interior of the Russian-controlled Crimean peninsula.
So far, the United States has provided Ukraine with around $111 billion, mostly in weapons but also in equipment and humanitarian assistance.
When Ukraine begins deploying F-16 fighter jets later this year, “we will balance the situation on the battlefield and it will be much easier for us,” Shmyhal said. But today, with the current shortage of long-range artillery and missile equipment, “if it is stopped, if it is delayed, that is the main danger for us on the battlefield.”
On Tuesday, Sweden said it would donate $682 million worth of military equipment to Ukraine.
“The reason we continue to support Ukraine is a matter of humanity and decency. “Russia started an illegal, unprovoked and indefensible war,” Defense Minister Pal Jonson said at a news conference.
Shmyhal was in Tokyo to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose country hopes to build momentum for global support for Ukraine as the war drags on and attention has shifted to the conflict in Gaza.
Japan has focused on reconstruction aid, in part because of constitutional restrictions on the supply of lethal weapons.
The day before, Kishida pledged a long-term commitment to Ukraine's reconstruction at a conference focused on economic growth.
During their meeting, Shmyhal also called for new sanctions on Russia following the death of prominent opposition leader Alexey Navalny.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's critic, 47, died Friday in a remote penal colony in Russia under circumstances that remain murky. Navalny's death sparked global outrage, with many Western leaders, including Biden, blaming Putin.
“We are fighting for democratic values for the entire democratic world, this is an existential war of democracy against autocracy,” Shmyhal said Tuesday during the press conference in Tokyo.
Germany, Lithuania and Sweden also called for new sanctions against Moscow during a meeting of the European Union's top diplomats.
