Sybiha, amid new Russian attacks, urges partners to boost air defense, weapons and sanctions
Following another round of Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on international partners to strengthen Ukraine's air defense, increase weapons deliveries, and step up sanctions pressure on Russia.
"Russia should enter this winter knowing that the sky over Ukraine is getting harder to penetrate, that the missiles and drones it produces will be intercepted more and more often, and that the industry, technology, revenues and supply chains sustaining its attacks will face growing disruption and cost," Sybiha wrote on X.
He said Russia attacked Ukraine overnight, targeting cities and communities across the country with missiles and drones, with the attacks continuing into the morning.
"This is exactly what Russia does when it sees that repeated attacks carry too few consequences. It widens the geography and increases the frequency of strikes, testing how far it can go," the foreign minister said.
According to Sybiha, international partners need to make decisions now, including on additional air defense systems and interceptors, particularly to counter ballistic missiles.
Sybiha also called for providing more missiles for F-16s and additional aircraft to bolster Ukraine's ability to defend its skies, as well as for imposing tougher sanctions against Russia's military-industrial complex and sanctions-evasion networks.
"The world cannot stand idly by while Russia treats Ukrainians as targets on a shooting range," Sybiha said.
He stressed that closing Ukraine's skies should no longer be a matter of reacting to individual Russian attacks, but must instead involve depriving Russia of the confidence that it can keep terrorizing Ukraine indefinitely at an acceptable cost.
"The longer Moscow sees hesitation, the more it will try. The task is to change that calculation," the foreign minister concluded.