Ukraine's Zelenskyy pushes Nato to supply weapons and cash

Weapons and open wallets formed the core request from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine on Wednesday, as he told Nato leaders his country's military needs modern equipment and more financial aid in its fight against Russia's invasion.

"We need to break the Russian artillery advantage," Mr Zelenskyy told the 30-member alliance in a video address.

"We need much more modern systems, modern artillery."

He said financial support was "no less important than aid with weapons".

"Russia still receives billions every day and spends them on war. We have a multibillion-dollar deficit, we don't have oil and gas to cover it," Mr Zelenskyy said, adding that Ukraine needs about $5 billion a month for its defence.

He also called for sanctions on Russia "that will stop its ability to pay for the war".

Washington and Brussels have slapped Moscow with unprecedented sanctions over its invasion of pro-western Ukraine, which President Vladimir Putin launched on February 24.

The US and Canada, which are far less reliant on Russia as an energy supplier than Europe, have banned all Russian oil imports.

The EU, however, has introduced a gradual oil embargo as part of its sanctions on Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears on the screen, as he delivers a speech by video conference during the first day of the Nato Summit in Madrid, Spain, on Wednesday. EPA

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a warning that the West must support Kyiv in its military strategy, to help change the dynamic of the conflict and put Mr Zelenskyy "in the best possible position to talk if and when talks eventually come".

"We really do want to give the Ukrainians strategic endurance," he said.

"The logic is yes of course people all want the war to end, they want the war to end desperately, but there's no deal available.

"Putin isn't making an offer of a deal, Zelenskyy can't make an offer of a deal".

Red flags

Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

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Wear a protective helmet
Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
Do not drive outside designated lanes

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Zakat definitions

Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.

Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.

Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.

Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.

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