Ukraine urges allies at UN to boost air defense supplies tenfold
Andrii Melnyk (Photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Andrii Melnyk, stated that the supply of air defense systems to Ukraine needs to be increased tenfold. He called on European and American partners to do so, according to his statement at a UN Security Council meeting.
"Ukraine calls again on our European and our American partners to multiply their air defense assistance at least ten times. The alarming new scale of Russia's aerial terror requires a response of an entirely different magnitude. We need to better protect the skies over our cities. We need to better protect and save civilian lives," said the Permanent Representative of Ukraine.
Furthermore, he emphasised that all UN member states should take action or deprive the Kremlin’s military machine of funding. Otherwise, Russia will be able to continue the war.
"Every loophole that remains open, every sanction left uninforced, and every source of revenue left untouched enables the Kremlin to prolong its war of agression," he emphasised.
Andrii Melnyk also called on UN Security Council members to support a resolution for an immediate ceasefire and a prisoner exchange based on the all-for-all formula.
He concluded that Ukraine’s large-scale strikes on legitimate military targets not only changed the dynamics on the battlefield but also inevitably undermined Russia’s economic capacity to sustain its criminal war machine.
Air defense for Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently sent a letter to US President Donald Trump. The letter contained a warning about a critical shortage of air defense systems.
"When it comes to air defense against missiles, we rely on our friends. When it comes to defending against ballistic missiles, we rely almost exclusively on the United States," the letter said.
The Ukrainian company Fire Point, together with partners, is developing a new air defense system called Freya, which is intended to be an affordable alternative to the Patriot system.
