Ukraine seeks weapons to protect from Russia

Our armed forces are being held with courage beyond humanity, but we cannot win the war without defence weapons,” said Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak.

The “in our case is protection, not aggression”, he said.

The appeal comes shortly after Russia announced it had placed hypersonic missiles on the battlefield, near Ukraine's border with NATO member Romania, in what analysts said was the first use of such weapons in the world.

Yermak said it was the impossible “” that Ukraine be effectively protected without a reliable “air defence system that overthrows enemy and ballistic missiles from a large distance”.

Beden and other NATO leaders have increased military support for Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons that have helped block Russian forces.

Ukraine's appeal for greater military support from Western allies has been a key refrain in a wave of President Volodymyr Zelensky's recent speeches to European and Western lawmakers.

Zelensky will address Japanese and French lawmakers Wednesday and a special NATO summit Thursday. Ukraine's leader recently acknowledged that Kiev was unlikely to become a member of the bloc.

They don't want to see us in NATO. Such fear of escalation is understandable. But it will not save us,” Yermak added in his speech Tuesday.

So far, war in Ukraine has caused millions of refugees.

From the start of the war until midnight on March 19th, the UN High Commissioner's Office for Human Rights (OHCHR) registered 902 civilians killed and 1,459 injured.

Ukrainian officials say thousands of civilians have been killed.

Ukraine's Attorney General's Office reported on Saturday that 112 children have been killed since the start of fighting between more than 140 children have been injured.

A pronounced humanitarian crisis is currently developing in the port-town of Marioupolis, where over 200,000 civilians are estimated to be blocked without water, electricity and food supplies. / REL