Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has quickly pivoted to pressing his requests for long-range missiles and military aircraft, hours after Germany and the United States pledged to provide Kyiv with dozens of advanced battle tanks.
Zelenskiy said in his regular nightly video address on January 25 that it is now necessary to "go ahead with the supply of aircraft for Ukraine."
The tank question weighed heavily on NATO for months before Britain, then Berlin and Washington, agreed to provide the training and equipment in hopes of helping stem an expected push by Russia in its nearly year-old full-scale invasion.
"It is very important that there is progress in other aspects of our defense cooperation as well," Zelenskiy said, adding that he'd spoken earlier in the day with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
"We must also open the supply of long-range missiles to Ukraine. It is important -- we must also expand our cooperation in artillery, we must enter into the supply of aircraft for Ukraine. And this is a dream. And this is the task."
Zelenskiy also hailed the fresh decisions by the United States and Germany to supply battle tanks to his country.
"The way we are all working together to strengthen freedom, to defend Ukraine and Europe, is a historic achievement," he said.
He added that it was important to train Ukrainian tank crews quickly and to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine as soon as possible.
Moscow has warned that it regards the Western supply of tanks to its much smaller post-Soviet foe a dangerous provocation.
After U.S. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced their decisions to supply the tanks, Biden and Scholz held a joint call with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Several sides said the leaders agreed on the need for ongoing military support for Ukraine and close transatlantic coordination.
