Why can't US help Ukraine repel RF attacks like Israel: Explanation from State Department
Photo: US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller (Getty Images)
The United States is not assisting Ukraine in shooting down Russian missiles and drones, as they did with Iranian ones in Israel. The State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, cited four reasons for this during the briefing.
Miller noted that he understands the comments made by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy regarding Western allies shooting down Iranian missiles and drones in the skies over Israel but being afraid to do the same in Ukraine.
"I would expect the president of any country who is under such withering attacks to look for any way possible to defend his people. Fully understand that," he said.
However, the State Department spokesperson emphasized that the US has "entirely different relationship with Ukraine and Israel."
"We have had a decades-long security partnership with Israel where we have been providing them direct military aid – not just going back two years of a conflict but for decades – and have had long, broad-standing communications between our military and the Israeli military that goes back decades," noted Miller.
He added that Israel is a major non-NATO ally of the United States, while Ukraine is in a different position.
"Ukraine is just in a different position in that we did not have that kind of agreement with them prior to the immediate months before this conflict," the spokesperson said.
He added that the US provides Ukraine with equipment necessary for air defense, including missile defense systems, such as the Patriot system.
"Given that we are not in armed military conflict with Russia, which is what it would require for US planes to be in the skies over Ukraine engaging with Russian attacks. And we are not going to be in direct armed conflict with Russia. The President of the United States has been – has made that very clear," emphasized Miller.
The spokesperson noted that it is in the interests of the American people to prevent a direct armed conflict between the US and Russia because they "do not want a Third World War."
"And if you want to ask the question about what more we can do, the question is one to put to the United States Congress – because we have a supplemental spending bill that would allow us to provide more equipment, including more air-defense systems, to Ukraine that they very much need, and we hope that bill will pass," Miller added.
What preceded
During Iran's attack on Israeli territory, US and UK military participated in intercepting aerial targets.
When asked at the White House if they would help Ukraine as they helped Israel, they responded that "it's about different conflicts, different airspace, different threat pictures."
And UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron stated that the country's armed forces cannot shoot down drones over Ukraine because it would provoke the risk of escalation and widescale war in Europe.
