Western allies send weapons and missiles to Ukraine.. and donations include machine guns and sniper rifles

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Saturday that his Western partners will send new weapons and equipment to Ukraine, speaking after a call with French President Emmanuel Macron.

"A new day has begun on the diplomatic front with a conversation with Emmanuel Macron. Weapons and equipment from our partners are on their way to Ukraine. The anti-war coalition is active," Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

Shortly before this announcement, Zelensky called on Ukrainians not to surrender and to defend the capital, Kiev, where Ukrainian forces are locked in confrontations on the third day of the Russian invasion.

"I am here. We will not surrender weapons and we will defend our country," Zelensky said in a video message posted this morning on Facebook.

He also called not to believe the "false information" spread on the Internet that he had called on his army to surrender its weapons.

"Our weapon is the truth. This is our land. This is our country. Our children. We will defend all this," he said.

This message was broadcast at a time when Ukrainian forces were engaged in battles in the capital to repel the Russian army.

The army reported that fierce battles were still continuing before noon in Kiev.

The Ukrainian army also reported "heavy" battles 30 km southwest of Kiev, where it said the Russians were "trying to land paratroopers".

For its part, the Dutch Ministry of Defense announced in a letter to Parliament that "the Netherlands has recently received from Ukraine additional requests for military equipment," noting that the country "will supply Ukraine with 200 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles as soon as possible."

The letter added that "the scheduled delivery of military equipment was and still is aimed at Ukrainian self-defense against the armed attack launched by Russia."

The ministry said it had "shipped some promised equipment on Saturday," including sniper rifles and helmets, adding that "other equipment will be shipped as soon as possible, but the Netherlands, like other countries, faces logistical challenges."

Also, the Czech Defense Minister announced Saturday that the Czech Republic will donate machine guns, automatic rifles, snipers, pistols and ammunition worth 7.6 million euros to Ukraine.

"The government agreed on Saturday to provide further assistance to Ukraine, which is facing a Russian attack," Minister Yana Chernovova said on Twitter.

"The Ministry of Defense will also take care of the process of transferring it to the place specified by the Ukrainian side. Our assistance is not over yet," she added.

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