Ukraine needs weapons immediately: Top diplomat

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - Ukraine is in immediate need for weapons and measures from Western allies to stop the Russian war machine, the country's top diplomat said on Thursday.

Speaking at a news conference following talks with NATO foreign ministers, Dmytro Kuleba said he only had "three points on his agenda: Weapons, weapons, weapons."

Kuleba explained that Moscow has been redirecting its forces from northern Ukraine to the east of the country, adding that "as we speak, the battle for Donbas is underway."

He warned that the battle for the region would be comparable to World War II in terms of "large operations maneuvers, involvement of thousands of tanks, armored vehicles, planes, artillery."

While acknowledging that Western sanctions have inflicted pain on Russia, he stressed that these measures were "insufficient" to stop Russia's war-making abilities.

"People are dying today and we need steps which will stop Russia's war machine today," Kuleba said, asserting that "timing is crucial."

"Either you help us now -- and I'm speaking about days, not weeks -- or your help will come too late," he added, urging NATO members to step up with arms shipments and by cutting energy imports from Russia.

Asked about recent footage of Ukrainian soldiers torturing Russian war prisoners, he said he did not see the videos in question, but underlined that the Ukrainian army "observes the rules of warfare" and that isolated incidents would be investigated.

He stated that there is no excuse for any side to violate the law of war, but added that the date of the video should be checked because "you don't understand how it feels after seeing pictures on Bucha, talking to people who escaped, knowing that the person was raped for days in a row."

At the same time, he explained that talks must continue with Russia to "prevent another Bucha."

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow are facing vehement criticism from the international community after Ukraine accused Russian forces of committing "genocide" and "war crimes" in Bucha, a town near the capital Kyiv.

Russia has rejected the allegations as a "fake news attack," arguing that the images that have drawn global outrage were staged after Russian forces withdrew from the city.

The Russian war on Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, has drawn international outrage, with the EU, US, and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,611 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,227 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.

More than 4.3 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.