Sharjah 24 – AFP: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blasted the West for lacking unity on Wednesday, as the Russian military campaign entered its fourth month and Moscow's troops advanced in eastern Ukraine.
Russian forces relentlessly bombarded the industrial city of Severodonetsk while attempting to encircle it, a key goal of recent fighting in Ukraine's Donbas region.
However, Moscow told the West to lift sanctions to stave off a global food crisis sparked by the war between two countries that together produce nearly a third of the world's wheat.
Zelensky renewed calls for heavy weapons from foreign partners, saying the billions of dollars' worth already put up were not enough to help Ukraine's outgunned forces.
"Unity is about weapons. My question is, is there this unity in practice? I can't see it. Our huge advantage over Russia would be when we are truly united," Zelensky said via videolink to an event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Zelensky said Ukraine was grateful for US support, but urged Europe to step up, specifically naming neighbouring Hungary which is blocking an EU-wide embargo on Russian oil.
The Ukrainian president said hours earlier in his daily address to the nation that Russian forces "want to destroy everything" in eastern Ukraine.
Western funds and weapons have helped Ukraine hold off its neighbour's advances in many areas, including the capital Kyiv.
Russia is now focused on expanding its gains in eastern Donbas, home to pro-Russian separatists, as well as the southern coast.
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