KYIV — Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Wednesday that Kyiv's biggest challenge is the reluctance of its allies to approve new policies for fear of escalating the war with Russia.

“Since the beginning of the large-scale invasion by Russia, the biggest problem Ukraine has faced is the dominance of the concept of escalation in the decision-making processes among our partners,” Kuleba stated during a panel in the Polish city of Olsztyn, chaired by Poland’s former Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.

Kuleba noted that Ukraine’s requests for new types of weapons have repeatedly been denied over concerns that it could provoke further escalation from Moscow. He emphasized that Ukraine could have been in a stronger position today if fears of escalation did not dominate the decision-making of its partners.

“This has been the most difficult thing I’ve had to handle since the beginning of the war: getting countries to think beyond how Moscow will respond,” Kuleba added.

Kuleba arrived in Poland on Wednesday for an official visit and held discussions with Sikorski. “We discussed a broad agenda, focusing on the military aspect, including MIG jets and steps to enable Ukraine’s neighbors to intercept Russian missiles and drones from their territory,” Kuleba wrote on X.

Kuleba is scheduled to visit Brussels on Thursday to attend an informal meeting of European Union foreign ministers. — Agencies