Volodymyr Zelensky says aid delays making life ‘very difficult’

Women pay tribute at the memorial of Maidan activists—known as ‘Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred’—referring to people killed in the anti-government protests of 2013-2014, in downtown Kyiv. Pic/AP

Delays in weapons deliveries from Western allies to Ukraine are opening a door for Russian battlefield advances, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says, making the fight "very difficult" along parts of the front line where the Kremlin's forces captured a strategic city last weekend ahead of the war's two-year anniversary.

Zelensky and other officials have often expressed frustration at the slowness of promised aid deliveries, especially since signs of war fatigue have emerged. European countries are struggling to find enough stocks to send to Kyiv, and US help worth $60 billion is stalled over political differences. That appears to be playing into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Even so, more help is heading Ukraine's way, as Sweden announced Tuesday its biggest aid package so far and Canada said it was expediting the delivery of more than 800 drones. Zelensky said Ukrainian troops keenly felt a shortage of artillery, air defense systems and long-range weapons. They were forced to withdraw from the strategic eastern city of Avdiivka at the weekend, where they had battled a fierce Russian assault for four months despite being heavily outnumbered and outgunned.

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