Volodymyr Zelenskiy calls for change in western long-range weapons policies – Europe live

Speaking at Ramstein airbase, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy raised concerns about western partners’ policies and the pace of deliveries.

“I’m grateful to all partners for the fact that the Nato summit in Washington was marked by decisions on air defense systems for Ukraine. However, many systems have yet to be delivered,” he said.

He added:

Long-range capability. I’m glad that the US, the UK, and France are represented here. Thanks to our joint courage, we have implemented very important operations, in particular in Crimea.

These operations allowed us to return security to the Black Sea and our food exports. Now we hear that your long-range policy has not changed, but we see changes in the Atacms, Storm Shadows and Scalps –a shortage of missiles and cooperation.

This applies even to our territory, which is occupied by Russia, including Crimea. We think it is wrong that there are such steps. We need to have this long-range capability not only on the occupied territory of Ukraine, but also on the Russian territory, so that Russia is motivated to seek peace.

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy has arrived at the Ramstein airbase with a renewed call for assistance.

“It is crucial that all the weapons from the already announced support packages finally reach the combat brigades,” he said.

“We also need strong long-range decisions from our partners to bring closer the just peace we are striving for,” the Ukrainian leader added.

Zelenskiy is set to meet with the US secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin, the German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, and the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz.

Michel Barnier, France’s new rightwing prime minister, has vowed to address the nation’s feelings of anger, abandonment and injustice, promising a “new era” and a break with the past.

Barnier, the EU’s former Brexit negotiator, took office hours after Emmanuel Macron appointed him to form “a unifying government in the service of the country” – an attempt to put an end to two months of political paralysis after a snap election.

Barnier, who at 73 is the oldest premier in the history of modern France, said his first task was to “respond as best we can to the challenges, the anger, the feeling of abandonment and injustice that is too prevalent in our cities, on our estates and in the countryside”.

The government’s priority would be education, as well as security and controlling immigration, he said.

Barnier’s appointment was greeted with dismay by the left which will now seek to topple him with a no-confidence motion.

Controversially, Macron appears to be counting on Le Pen’s National Rally to keep Barnier in power by voting against a no-confidence motion. The RN indicated on Thursday it would not automatically vote down Barnier and would wait and see what sort of programme he laid out in his first address to parliament.

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