Zelensky calls western hesitation about aid to Ukraine unacceptable

Following the deaths of rescue workers in a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticized the West's hesitation in providing military aid to the country as completely unacceptable.

"A new air defence system could fundamentally change the situation," Zelensky said in his evening video message broadcast in Kiev on Thursday.

He said he was grateful to every country that was looking for ways to help Ukraine. At the same time, he said: "It is completely unacceptable that so many countries in the world are still thinking about how they can counter terror, even though all it takes is a few political decisions."

Ukraine is calling for more air defence systems, such as the US Patriot system, to better protect its cities from Russian attacks on an almost daily basis.

Stronger air defence for Kharkiv and the region of the same name as well as the Sumy region and the southern regions is an "absolutely urgent necessity", said Zelensky.

Zelensky recalled that one person had died in a Russian drone attack on a residential area on Thursday; when the rescue services arrived, there had been a second air strike. Three emergency responders died.

"This is a disgusting Russian tactic," said Zelensky, who expressed his condolences to the relatives of the victims on the social network X (formerly Twitter).

He called on Ukraine's diplomats to solicit air defence systems abroad.

In his video address, Zelensky also said that the situation on the ground was stabilizing. The occupying forces were being prevented from advancing any further, he said.