18:36 03.04.2024

Kuleba urges partners to strengthen Ukraine's air defense, as ‘it’s only matter of political will’

1 min read
Kuleba urges partners to strengthen Ukraine's air defense, as ‘it’s only matter of political will’

The partners do not provide sufficient air defense of Ukraine to protect against Russian missile attacks, although they have more than 100 Patriot systems in their arsenals, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

In an interview with Reuters, Kuleba said he would raise the issue of Patriot missile defense systems at every meeting with NATO colleagues in Brussels.

"The partners have provided us with their various (air defense) systems, we appreciate it, but this is simply not enough, given the scale of the war," the foreign minister said.

According to him, Ukraine's partners have at their disposal more than 100 Patriot systems, but "are not yet ready to share five to seven more, which, according to Kyiv, is the minimum necessary to provide significant additional protection."

"And there is a solution. It's just a matter of political will. Therefore, someone has to make a decision," the minister urged.

Kuleba said he did not understand why the Allies had not provided additional Patriots so far. He stressed that strengthening air defense will help defeat Russia and prevent a larger war in Europe.

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