75 years of NATO: Ukraine went to the party in Brussels but was asked for more Patriot missiles

With NATO discussing long-term military aid to Ukraine, Kiev once again warned that, in the face of increasing Russian air attacks, it needs more Patriot missiles, “the only system that can intercept ballistic missiles”.

At the meeting celebrating NATO’s 75th anniversary in Brussels, Ukraine once again stressed that it needs more Patriot missiles to face Russia’s increasingly intense air attacks.

“Saving Ukrainian lives, saving the Ukrainian economy and saving Ukrainian cities depends on the availability of Patriots and other air defense systems in Ukraine. And we are talking about the Patriots because it is the only system that can intercept ballistic missiles”, declared Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

“In March alone, Ukraine was hit by 94 ballistic missiles. But the supply of the Patriots depends on the allies. They have a lot,” he added.

Western allies’ deployment of a limited number of Patriot missile systems to Ukraine was seen as a key boost to the defense of civilian populations.

However, missile reserves urgently need to be replenished and there are reports that some Patriots have been destroyed in recent months as Russia has improved its ability to target them.

Kuleba, who attended a NATO-Ukraine Council meeting in Brussels, thanked the allies for agreeing to begin identifying stocks of Patriot missile batteries that could be sent to Ukraine.

Affected by a severe ammunition shortage, Ukraine has lowered the military mobilization age from 27 to 25 in an effort to replenish its depleted ranks.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “the support for Ukraine, the resolve of all the countries represented here in NATO, remains solid.”

“We will do everything we can, our allies will do everything they can, to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to continue to deal with Russia’s ongoing aggression, aggression that is getting worse with each passing day,” said Blinken. .

“The fight that Ukraine has in its hands is not just Ukraine’s fight, it is everyone’s fight, because the aggression that is being committed by Russia is not just an aggression against Ukraine and its people, it is an aggression against the very principles that are at the center of the international system”, he reinforced.