Ukraine Disappointed by Tank Support Failure: "Our People Are Dying"

Children are climbing on a destroyed Russian tank in front of St. Michael's Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Ukraine expressed repeated disappointment on the 21st (local time) over the failure of Western countries to agree on tank support.

According to Reuters and other sources, Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the President of Ukraine, criticized on Twitter, "Today's indecisiveness is killing more of our people." He added, "Each delayed day is a death of Ukrainians," urging, "We need to think faster."

Andriy Melnyk, Deputy Foreign Minister, said in an interview with CNN that the failure to reach an agreement on tank support was "a huge disappointment to all Ukrainians." He also praised the recent decision by the UK to send Challenger 2 tanks, saying, "I hoped that would be a trigger for other countries, but unfortunately, Germany has not yet followed suit."

The previous day, more than 50 countries including the US and Germany held a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) at the US Air Force base in Ramstein, Germany, to discuss support for German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine but failed to reach a consensus. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said, "There was no agreement among participants on supplying Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine," adding, "All pros and cons need to be carefully reviewed." In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed gratitude for the Western countries' promises of weapons support but emphasized, "The only thing that needs to be stressed is time, delivery time," urging, "All procedures must proceed as quickly as possible."

Meanwhile, Russia claimed that it is intensifying offensives not only on the eastern front but also on the southern front. In its daily report, the Russian military stated, "We have launched an offensive in the southern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine," and "We have secured a more advantageous front and position in this area." Zaporizhzhia is the central area of the Russian-occupied land corridor connecting the eastern Donetsk province and the southern Kherson province. The front lines have been stalemated for several months but fighting has intensified again this week.