BRUSSELS: Ukraine’s president called on European Union leaders on Thursday to make good on their pledges to provide military equipment to his war-ravaged country, just days after the bloc launched membership talks with his government.
“We have to work on next steps,” President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters in Brussels as he arrived to attend a summit of EU leaders. He said he and the leaders would discuss “the urgent things -– air defense, that is one.”
Zelensky thanked countries that have promised equipment, weapons and ammunition, but underlined that “we need them urgently on the battlefield.”
Russian forces are seeking to press their advantage in troop numbers and weaponry before Ukraine’s armed forces are bulked up by promised new Western military aid, some of which is trickling to the front line, analysts say.
The EU launched membership talks with Ukraine on Tuesday, a decade after Russian troops seized the Crimean Peninsula to deter the country from moving closer to the West, part of a chain of events that set the two neighbors on the path to war.
“We waited for this, a long period of time,” Zelensky said, thanking the EU for its approval.
The leaders are expected to sign a document of security commitments to Ukraine, which in essence encapsulates what the 27-nation bloc has been doing for the country in terms of financial, military and other assistance since Russian forces invaded in February 2022.
Several countries already have similar agreements with Ukraine, offering a long-term commitment to help Kyiv, including once its war with Russia is over. Zelensky and US President Joe Biden signed one such pact earlier this month which will run for the next decade.
Ukraine’s president urges EU leaders to make good on their arms promises
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Ukraine’s president urges EU leaders to make good on their arms promises
- “We have to work on next steps,” President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters in Brussels
- He thanked countries that have promised equipment, weapons and ammunition, but underlined that “we need them urgently on the battlefield”
Cross-border clash breaks out between Pakistan and Afghanistan amid rising tensions
- Border residents say exchange of fire in the Chaman border sector lasted nearly two hours
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan witnessed yet another border clash, according to officials in both countries who spoke in the early hours of Saturday, with each side accusing the other of launching “unprovoked” attacks.
Fighting erupted in Pakistan’s southwestern Chaman border sector, with an AFP report saying that residents on the Afghan side of the frontier reported the exchange of fire began at around 10:30 p.m. (1800 GMT) and continued for roughly two hours.
The incident underscored how tensions remain high between the neighbors, who have seen deadly clashes in recent months despite several rounds of negotiations mediated by Qatar and Türkiye that resulted in a tenuous truce in October.
“There has been unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban elements in the Chaman Sector which is a reckless act that undermines border stability and regional peace,” said a Pakistani security official on condition of anonymity.
“Pakistani troops responded with precision, reinforcing that any violation of our territorial integrity will be met with immediate and decisive action,” he continued.
The official described Pakistan’s response as “proportionate and calibrated” that showed “professionalism even in the face of aggression.”
“The Chaman Sector exchange once again highlights the need for Kabul to rein in undisciplined border elements whose actions are destabilizing Afghanistan’s own international standing,” he added.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have grown increasingly bitter since the Taliban seized power in Kabul following the withdrawal of international forces in August 2021.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban administration of sheltering anti-Pakistan militant groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which have carried out deadly attacks in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan, targeting civilians and security forces.
The Taliban deny the charge, saying Pakistan’s internal security challenges are its own responsibility.
The Pakistani security official said his country remained “committed to peaceful coexistence, but peace cannot be one-sided.”
“Attempts to pressure Pakistan through kinetic adventurism have repeatedly failed and will continue to fail,” he said. “The Chaman response has reaffirmed that message unmistakably.”
He added that Pakistan’s security forces were fully vigilant and that responsibility for any escalation “would solely rest with those who initiated unprovoked fire.”
Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister, also commented on the clashes in a social media post, saying the Afghan Taliban had “resorted to unprovoked firing along the border.”
“An immediate, befitting and intense response has been given by our armed forces,” he wrote.
Afghan authorities, however, blamed Pakistan for the hostilities.
Border clashes that began in October have killed dozens of people on both sides.
The latest incident comes amid reports of back-channel discussions between the two governments, although neither has publicly acknowledged such talks.
