More of everything is barely enough to help keep Ukraine fighting off the predations of Russia. That is the conclusion delivered by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday as he renewed his plea for more weapons a day after Russian strikes on Kyiv killed seven people.
Russia’s invasion of its neighbour has dragged on for nearly four years, with diplomatic efforts to end the conflict failing, and fears are growing for the country’s energy security ahead of a fourth winter of war, AFP reports.
Zelensky is determined to keep fighting but is once again calling out for help from allies to maintain the defence of the country which has already drained billions from donor countries around the world.
“Ukraine needs support that saves lives: more air-defence systems, more protective capabilities and greater resolve from our partners,” Zelensky said on social media.
Earlier, officials had said the death toll from Friday’s attack on Kyiv had risen to seven after an elderly woman died in hospital, the AFP report notes.
Zelensky said one of the victims was Nataliia Khodemnchuk, the wife of an operator at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant who died during the 1986 nuclear disaster.
“Nearly four decades later, Nataliia was killed in a new tragedy caused once again by the Kremlin,” he said.
Zelensky has long issued regular calls for more and more defence aid, as Breitbart News reported, even as the world questions the effectiveness of an endless stream of military provisions.
The U.S. alone has spent a total of $130.6bn between 24 January 2022 and 30 June 2025 in helping Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute, a Germany-based think tank that tracks international support for Ukraine, the BBC reports.
The U.S. Department of Defense has provided its own figure looking at all spending on Operation Atlantic Resolve – a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It says $184.8bn has been “appropriated”, a figure that covers U.S. military training in Europe and replenishment of U.S. defence stocks.
Russia now controls about one-fifth of Ukraine and capitalized last year on weaknesses in Ukraine’s defences to slowly advance in eastern areas despite high losses of troops and equipment.
The war’s trajectory remains outside Ukraine’s favor.
The country is outnumbered on the front line as it demands continued support from its Western partners to stop the yield of more land mass to the invading Russian forces.
