Zelensky: Lack of aid to Ukraine means crisis for Europe

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned of the danger of a further delay in Western aid for his country, which has been under attack from Russia for almost two years.

There will be a major crisis for the whole of Europe, Zelensky told journalists at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos on Wednesday.

Ukraine would continue to fight, but without financial assistance, Russia would be able to conquer Ukraine. And as soon as they have conquered Ukraine, it will be a war between NATO and Russia, Zelensky said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has such an attack on the military alliance in mind, Zelensky said.

A direct consequence of the lack of Western support will be a weakening on the battlefield with a huge shortage of artillery, said Zelensky. Air defence will also be weaker due to a lack of missiles and there will be a huge number of dead and injured people, he warned.

In the event of a Ukrainian defeat, Europe would not only be threatened by new streams of refugees, grain and electricity supplies would also be stopped, warned Zelensky.

Ukraine has been fending off a Russian invasion for almost two years with Western support. According to calculations by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), total aid to Ukraine already amounts to over €240 billion ($260 billion).

However, the granting of billions in new aid from the most important supporter, the United States, is currently stuck due to a domestic political dispute and weakening support among some Republican conservatives.

The EU has also been unable to release a planned Ukraine aid programme worth €50 billion over the next four years due to a veto by Hungary.

On the battlefield, Ukraine and Russia both reported drone strikes attacking their territory early on Wednesday.

The regional military administration of Odessa said that Russia had launched fresh drone attacks on the port city.

The attack damaged residential buildings and injured at least three people, the military administration said.

Russia earlier claimed to have repelled several Ukrainian missiles over the border region of Belgorod.

Back in Switzerland, a group with close ties to Russia launched a cyberattack on Swiss government websites.

The NoName group claimed responsibility for the action, citing the participation of the Ukrainian president at the World Economic Forum, the Federal Office for Cybersecurity (BACS) in Bern said on Wednesday.

The suspected perpetrators temporarily paralysed websites using so-called DDoS attacks by overloading the sites with a large number of requests.

Swiss experts worked to quickly restore the accessibility of the websites, BACS reported.

Switzerland had expected such an attack in the run-up to Zelensky's visit and had therefore taken security precautions, BACS said.