Ukraine is worried: ammunition and air defense systems are becoming scarce. Olaf Scholz calls on the European Union to do more to defend Ukraine.
Brussels – Ukraine is slowly running out of ammunition – and its air defense also leaves something to be desired. Now the EU wants to deliver supplies. Patriot missiles for the American defense system are intended to protect Kiev's critical infrastructure in the Ukraine war. Recently, Vladimir Putin increased his attacks on Ukrainian power plants in order to paralyze Kiev's defense industry.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) urged the other EU states in Brussels to send more missiles and Patriot systems to Ukraine. On Thursday (April 18th), Scholz had already assured Volodymyr Zelensky that he would hand over another Patriot system from the Bundeswehr to defend against Putin's invasion. A total of six more air defense systems will be made available to Kiev by other EU members, as Scholz announced to the press in Brussels.
Scholz is clear and calls for six more Patriot systems for Ukraine
Germany is currently making “the most substantial contribution” to Ukraine’s air defense, Scholz continued. He repeated his “call for others to make the same decisions.” “We hope that six more will be found,” the Chancellor continued. In addition to Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, among others, still have Patriot systems in their inventory that could be made available to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president attended the summit via video. “Our Ukrainian airspace and that of our neighbors deserve the same security” as Israel, he stressed, calling on EU leaders to keep their promises on arms deliveries. In total, Ukraine would need 25 Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems to adequately protect the entire Ukrainian airspace against Putin's attacks. With another seven of the systems, as Zelensky noted, at least the critical areas of the airspace could be covered.
Baerbock and Pistorius are campaigning for further aid to Ukraine
The federal government had also announced that it would make several IRIS-T and Skynex systems from the German defense company Rheinmetall available to further defend Kiev's airspace. Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas also emphasized the seriousness of the situation: "The situation is very, very serious and we have to send them what they ask for, namely ammunition and air defense."
Kallas appealed to the other EU states: “We simply cannot afford for Ukraine to lose the war, otherwise the entire security situation in Europe is in great danger.”
In a letter to NATO, which was available to the business magazine
Bloomberg
, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also expressed concern. The Russian missile attacks in recent weeks have caused greater damage to the Ukrainian energy infrastructure than in the winter of 2022. One thing is clear: aid to Ukraine is currently more urgent than ever before.
(SiSchr/afp)