Zelensky salutes ‘powerful support’ from allies at Moldova summit – as he increases pressure over jets

Ukrainian president says it is vitally important to overturn Russian air supremacy with F-16s and Patriot missile defence systems

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at a gathering of the European Political Community at Mimi Castle in Bulboaca, Moldova (Vladislav Culiomza/Reuters)

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has addressed a summit of more than 40 European leaders in Moldova, where he said he had received “powerful support” from his allies as he sought to ratchet up the pressure on the West to provide weapons and security guarantees for Ukraine.

In what has become a familiar refrain for Mr Zelensky, the president spoke of the need to overturn Russian air supremacy with a “sky shield” – a combination of Patriot missile defence systems and F-16 jets provided by Western nations. While his allies have talked a good game, Mr Zelensky will know that speed is important – given both the barrage of Russian missiles and drones that are hitting Ukrainian cities, and the preparations being made for a long-awaited counteroffensive to try to retake land occupied by Russian forces in the country’s east and south.

All the Ukrainian president can do is apply more diplomatic pressure in an effort to push decisions through. Noting that the F-16 fighter jets he is seeking will need approval from Washington, Mr Zelensky said after the meeting that he had “heard powerful support from many countries”, adding that “with the help of the United States we will create this coalition”. A number of nations, including the UK and the Netherlands, have said they want to help Ukraine procure the jets, but pilot training programmes could take months to complete, and Western allies have not yet said they will supply the aircraft.

After a child, her mother and another woman were killed in missile attacks on Kyiv, Mr Zelensky said that “protection” of the skies was important so that the people of Ukraine and “our children” could be protected. He said that military aid was saving lives and “literally accelerating peace”.

The choice to hold the summit in Moldova, a former Soviet republic of around 2.6 million people, was a message to the Kremlin from both the EU and the pro-Western Moldovan government, which received EU candidate status in June last year at the same time as Ukraine. The venue for the gathering was only 12 miles from the Ukrainian border.

Mr Zelensky said before the start of the meeting that he would seek a clear invitation for Ukraine to join the alliance at the Nato summit in Vilnius in mid-July. After the day of talks, Mr Zelensky said that if Nato membership was not possible for the time being, he wanted a guarantee of Ukraine’s security in the future, while insisting that the best security guarantee was membership of the military alliance and the European Union. He also said that any peace plan proposed in an effort to bring the war to an end could not take into account Russian concerns.

There have been divisions between Nato members over the speed of Ukraine’s accession, with some fearing that moving too quickly could bring the alliance closer to direct confrontation with Russia.

The British prime minister, Rishi Sunak – who attended the summit – said: “Ukraine’s rightful place is in Nato.” He added that he was proud of Britain’s record in supporting Ukraine. “We want to make sure we put in place security arrangements for Ukraine for the long term, so we send a very strong signal to Vladimir Putin that we are not going anywhere, we are here to stay, and we will continue backing Ukraine – not just now, but for years into the future,” he said.

French president Emmanuel Macron said Ukraine needed to be given clear and strong security guarantees at the Nato summit in July. Mr Macron said he was working closely with Germany on the issue and would be meeting with German chancellor Olaf Scholz next week.

“We have to give a long-term perspective to Ukraine. It is imperative that the Vilnius summit gives these immediate guarantees,” he said.

In Kyiv, the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said of the deaths in the rocket attack, in which all 10 missiles were said to have been shot down: “Three people, one of them a child, died near the clinic ... A rocket fragment fell near the entrance to the clinic four minutes after the air alert was announced. And people headed for the shelter.” There was some anger from local residents that people were unable to enter the shelter because it was closed.

“The air alert sounded. My wife took our daughter and they ran to the entrance here,” local resident Yaroslav Ryabchuk told reporters in the Desnyanskyi district. “The entrance was closed, there were already maybe five to 10 women with children. No one opened up for them. They knocked loudly enough.”

“They tried to enter the shelter, no one opened up for them. My wife died,” he said.

Local media said prosecutors had later searched city administration offices as part of the investigation into the deaths.

The assault on the Ukrainian capital was the fourth so far this week, after a total of 17 such attacks in May.

In Russia, the country’s defence ministry claimed it had repelled more cross-border attacks from Ukraine, near the town of Shebekino.

The Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), an anti-Putin paramilitary group of Russians who support Ukraine, claimed to be fighting inside Russia. “The second phase promised by the RVC’s commander has begun!” it said on Telegram, referring to a previous incursion it had claimed alongside another militia, the Freedom of Russia Legion. The legion also claimed it would be starting another raid, saying: “We, the Freedom of Russia Legion, are now near the border of our homeland, very soon we will advance again on the territory of Russia.”

The Belgorod region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said Ukraine’s armed forces had repeatedly shelled Shebekino with Soviet-designed Grad 122mm rockets, setting alight a dormitory and damaging an administrative building. At least nine civilians were injured, he said.

Ukraine denies its military is involved in the incursions into Russia or attacks inside Russian territory.