France’s ex-defense minister calls for sending air defense systems to Ukraine

French Senator Alain Richard, who earlier served as Minister of Defense of France, advocated the transfer of missile defense systems to Ukraine.

The corresponding statement was made by the French politician in a comment to Guildhall, seen by Ukrinform.

 “I stand for the transfer of missile defense systems to Ukraine, which will strongly stop the ongoing deadly missile strikes by the Russians,” the politician said.

The senator also expressed his words of support and respect for Ukraine.

Earlier, also in the German Bundestag, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group called for the transfer of all necessary weapons to Ukraine to protect the nation against Russian aggression, including missile defense systems.

In turn, Oleksandr V. Danylyuk, Head of the Center for Defense Reforms, Coordinator of the Interdepartmental Platform for Combating Hybrid Threats, which operates within the framework of Ukraine-NATO cooperation, said that one of the key challenges for Ukraine today is the use by the invasion forces of cruise missiles, since they operate at low altitudes, remaining invisible to the Ukrainian air defense system. Danylyuk called on Western powers to send F-15s, F-16s, or other Western interceptors to Ukraine in order to effectively counter cruise missile strikes.